A Social Cognitive Theory Approach to Understanding Parental Attitudes and Intentions to Vaccinate Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ying Zhu; Michael Beam; Yue Ming; Nichole Egbert; Tara C Smith

doi:10.3390/vaccines10111876

A Social Cognitive Theory Approach to Understanding Parental Attitudes and Intentions to Vaccinate Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Nov 7;10(11):1876. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10111876.

Authors

Ying Zhu¹, Michael Beam², Yue Ming¹, Nichole Egbert³, Tara C Smith⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Communication and Information, Kent State University, 318 University Library, 1125 Risman Drive, Kent, OH 44242, USA.
² School of Emerging Media & Technology, Kent State University, 550 Hilltop Drive, Kent, OH 44242, USA.
³ School of Communication Studies, Kent State University, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242, USA.
⁴ College of Public Health, Kent State University, 800 Hilltop Drive, Kent, OH 44242, USA.

Abstract

The distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine represents a path towards global health after a worldwide pandemic. Yet, the U.S. response to the vaccination rollout has been politically polarized. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the contextual factors that influence parents' attitudes towards health officials and their intention to vaccinate children, focusing on communication behaviors, personal factors, and geographic locations. We use Bandura's triadic reciprocal determinism (TRD) model which posits reciprocal influence between personal factors, environmental factors, and behaviors. We found that personal factors (having younger children and identifying as Republican partisans), and the behavioral factor of conservative news use were significantly related to more negative attitudes towards health officials and lower vaccination intentions. Conversely, Democrats and liberal news use were significantly related to warmer attitudes and greater vaccination intentions. The environmental factor of geographic location across four states with different partisan dynamics was not significantly related to attitudes and behavioral intentions. Results from a post-hoc analysis show that news media use and partisanship were the strongest correlates of parents' attitudes towards health officials. This evidence points to the politicization of the COVID-19 vaccine being a key consideration regarding vaccine uptake.

Keywords: COVID-19; child vaccination; political polarization; social cognitive theory; survey methods.

Grants and funding

This publication was made possible in part by support from the Kent State University CCI Research and Creative Activity Fund and the Kent State University Open Access Publishing Fund. This research was funded by the Kent State University CCI Research and Creative Activity Fund. The APC was funded by the Kent State University CCI Research and Creative Activity Fund and the Kent State University Open Access Publishing Fund.