Willingness to Vaccinate Against COVID-19 : The Role of Health Locus of Control and Conspiracy Theories
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Frontiers in Psychology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | article - open access |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.717960 |
| Keywords | COVID-19; pandemics; vaccination; willingness to get vaccinated; conspiracy theories; health locus of control; conspiracy mentality |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Understanding the predictors of the willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 may aid in the resolution of current and future pandemics. We investigate how the readiness to believe conspiracy theories and the three dimensions of health locus of control (HLOC) affect the attitude toward vaccination. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on the data from an online survey of a sample of Czech university students (n = 866) collected in January 2021, using the multivariate linear regression models and moderation analysis. The results found that 60% of Czech students wanted to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In addition, 40% of the variance of willingness to get vaccinated was explained by the belief in the COVID-19-related conspiracy theories and the powerful others dimension of HLOC. One-sixth of the variance of the willingness to get vaccinated was explained by HLOC, cognitive reflection, and digital health literacy [eHealth Literacy Scale (EHEALS)]. HLOC and conspiracy mentality (CM) and its predictors are valid predictors of a hesitancy to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The campaigns promoting vaccination should target the groups specifically vulnerable to the conspiracy theories and lacking HLOC related to powerful others. |