Dynamic role of personality in explaining COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and refusal

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy and refusal are threats to sufficient response to the COVID-19 pandemic and public health efforts more broadly. We focus on personal characteristics, specifically personality, to explain what types of people are resistant to COVID-19 vaccination and how the influence of these traits changed as circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic evolved. We use a large survey of over 40,000 Canadians between November 2020 and July 2021 to examine the relationship between personality and vaccine hesitancy and refusal. We find that all five facets of the Big-5 (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and negative emotionality) are associated with COVID-19 vaccine refusal. Three facets (agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) tended to decline in importance as the vaccination rate and COVID-19 cases grew. Two facets (extraversion and negative emotionality) maintained or increased in their importance as pandemic circumstances changed. This study highlights the influence of personal characteristics on vaccine hesitancy and refusal and the need for additional study on foundational explanations of these behaviors. It calls for additional research on the dynamics of personal characteristics in explaining vaccine hesitancy and refusal. The influence of personality may not be immutable.

Community Level Correlates of COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Hesitancy in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…There was a relationship between White individuals and more prosperous communities, while Black and Hispanic populations were associated with more distressed communities. Minority race status has been thoroughly indicated by other studies to be associated with both lower-income communities and increased vaccine hesitancy, both of which are corroborated by our findings [ 31 , 32 , 39 ]. A 2021 study demonstrated that Black Americans may be susceptible to many factors that may lead to increased COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, including significant medical mistrust as a result of systemic racism.…”

“…Some of these studies are outlined in Table 1 . Consistently, characteristics such as lower educational attainment, decreased vaccine literacy, and minority racial status were found to be associated with higher levels of vaccine hesitancy on a global scale [ 27 , 29 , 31 , 35 , 39 , 40 ]. Other factors, including gender, have been shown to play a role in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy as well, but some of these relationships may vary depending on other variables, such as location [ 27 , 31 , 38 ].…”

“…Yet, from 2021 to 2022, booster dose hesitancy has continued to increase globally [ 24 ]. Several studies have been conducted to address rising hesitancy rates and to identify the influence of individual-level factors on COVID-19 booster dose acceptance [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Some of these studies are outlined in Table 1 .…”

“…Current research has thoroughly demonstrated that individual factors play a role in vaccine hesitancy [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 39 , 40 ]. Specific populations, such as those identified as low socioeconomic status, are susceptible to risk factors, including a mistrust in vaccine safety, a lack of education on vaccinations, and inaccessibility to booster doses, all of which may decrease their willingness to receive an additional vaccine [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 35 , 40 ].…”

When I feel that I am better off, science seems to make the world better off too: inequality, perceived standard of living and perceptions toward science

“…The academic community has extensively explored the polarization of perceptions surrounding science and technology. Research has delved into the impacts of media representation ( Huber et al, 2019 ; Hameleers and Boukes, 2021 ; Gurevich, 2022 ; Fleury-Bahi et al, 2023 ; Hong, 2023 ), political ideologies, religious beliefs ( McCright et al, 2013 ; Agarwal et al, 2021 ; Akin et al, 2021 ; Jiang et al, 2022 ), and broader socio-economic determinants ( Achterberg et al, 2017 ; Agarwal et al, 2021 ; Han and Lee, 2022 ; Baker and Merkely, 2023 ). However, there remains a gap in understanding the effects of inequality.…”