J Public Health (Oxf). 2023 May 5:fdad050. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdad050. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy can prevent full immunization against coronavirus infectious disease-19 (COVID-19). We hypothesized that multiple factors, including an individual’s personality and psychological factors, are associated with vaccine hesitancy.

METHODS: A total of 275 non-vaccinated individuals were recruited for this study. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire including sociodemographic factors, health status, COVID-19 literacy and psychological factors (depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety, somatization, illness anxiety, temperament and character). In a hierarchical logistic regression analysis, a discrete set of hierarchical variables with vaccine acceptance or hesitancy as the dependent variable was added to the demographic factors for Model 1; Model 1 + health status for Model 2; Model 2 + COVID-19 literacy for Model 3 and Model 3 + psychological factors for Model 4.

RESULTS: Models 3 and 4 could predict vaccine hesitancy. High scores on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and the Illness Attitude Scale, low confidence, low collective responsibility and low reward dependence were risk factors for vaccine hesitancy.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that psychological factors play critical roles in vaccine hesitancy. In addition to conventional policies that emphasize COVID-19 vaccines’ safety and efficacy and the collective benefits of vaccination, a more individualized approach that considers an individual’s emotions and personality is necessary.

PMID:37147915 | DOI:10.1093/pubmed/fdad050