The Role of Existential Concerns in the Individual's Decisions regarding COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake: A Survey among Non-Vaccinated Italian Adults during the Third Wave of the Pandemic

Recent studies have suggested that health constructs embraced by the Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) may drive individuals' COVID-19 health-related decisions. This study examines the relationships between existential concerns (ECs; within the TMT),...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Vaccines (Basel) 2022-07, Vol.10 (7), p.1079
Main Authors: Franchina, Vittoria, Bonfanti, Rubinia Celeste, Lo Coco, Gianluca, Salerno, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Anxiety
Attitudes
basic psychological needs
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Decision theory
existential concerns
Immunization
Management methods
Multivariate statistical analysis
Pandemics
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Side effects
Surveys
Terrorism
vaccine hesitancy
Vaccines
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Summary:Recent studies have suggested that health constructs embraced by the Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) may drive individuals' COVID-19 health-related decisions. This study examines the relationships between existential concerns (ECs; within the TMT), basic psychological needs (BPNs; within the BPNT) and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH), as well as the mediating role of negative attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from April to May 2021 on a sample of two hundred and eighty-seven adults (M = 36.04 ± 12.07; 59.9% females). Participants provided information regarding existential concerns, basic psychological needs, attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine hesitancy for Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines separately. Higher vaccine hesitancy (32.1%) and vaccine resistance (32.8%) rates were found for AstraZeneca than for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (22.3% and 10.1%, respectively). Structural equation modeling showed that existential concerns were related to Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccine hesitancy both directly and indirectly through negative attitudes toward potential side effects of COVID-19 vaccines. The findings of the study confirm that the TMT is efficient in explaining COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Targeted efforts are needed to increase the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines.
ISSN:2076-393X
2076-393X
DOI:10.3390/vaccines10071079