Social Psychiatry, Vol. 51 No. 2, 2023.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.24869/spsih.2023.123
Cognitive Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Young People in Croatia
Blaž Rebernjak
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyse the cognitive predictors of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy among the young people
in Croatia. Within the context of the COVID-19 global pandemic, vaccination has become crucial to prevent the spread of
the virus and protect the population. However, the proportion of vaccinated people in Croatia is relatively small compared
to the other European countries. Vaccine hesitancy, i.e. vaccine refusal or delay in vaccination despite the availability
of vaccines, represents a serious challenge for public health. The data were collected based on an online convenience
sample of 398 participants and were processed using hierarchical logistic regression. Our aim was to determine whether
and to what extent cognitive factors such as access to different sources of information and points of view can predict
the likelihood of vaccine hesitancy. The results indicate that older participants who consider themselves to be politically
more left-oriented and regard religion as less important are more likely to get vaccinated. Furthermore, individuals who
obtain information through television and from other people, as well as those who display a scientific worldview and do
not believe in conspiracy theories, are more likely to get vaccinated.
Keywords
Vaccine Hesitancy; SARS-Co-2; Worldview; Information
Hrčak ID:
311609
URI
Publication date:
12.12.2023.
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