Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Intention among U.S. Undergraduates and Non-Student Adults

Gupta, Suryaa

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/110002 Copy

Description

Title

Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Intention among U.S. Undergraduates and Non-Student Adults

Author(s)

Gupta, Suryaa

Issue Date

2021

Department of Study

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• COVID-19
• Physical Health
• Applied Social Science

Language

en

Abstract

As COVID-19 has disrupted societies across the world, scientists have been rapidly working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in order to achieve herd immunity and save lives. Understanding the factors impacting whether people will receive this vaccine is therefore of utmost importance. Past work on vaccine hesitancy—declining of vaccinations despite availability—has focused on hypothetical, lower-threat or eradicated (e.g., influenza, polio) diseases in the US. The current research takes a timelier approach, extending past work by examining predictors of COVID-19 vaccine intention during the ongoing pandemic. Study 1 (N=346 undergraduate college students) was administered online as the pandemic escalated in the US (February-April 2020). Study 2 (preregistered; N=676) was administered to an age-diverse panel of US adults in July 2020. As hypothesized, receiving flu shots and vaccine confidence were significant unique predictors of COVID-19 vaccine intentions in both studies. Collective responsibility uniquely predicted COVID-19 vaccine intention in Study 1 but not in Study 2, and constraint, self-community overlap, perceived vaccine danger, and disease vulnerability uniquely predicted vaccine intention in Study 2 but not Study 1. Vaccine knowledge, complacency, calculation, analytical thinking, conspiracy belief, mistrust in science, and political ideology were not significant predictors in regression models containing all predictors.

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

The Office of Undergraduate Research

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110002

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2021 Suryaa Gupta

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