The Psychology of COVID-19 Booster Hesitancy, Acceptance and Resistance in Australia

Sabina Kleitman; Dayna J Fullerton; Marvin K H Law; Matthew D Blanchard; Rachel Campbell; Margaret-Ann Tait; Jennifer Schulz; Jihyun Lee; Lazar Stankov; Madeleine T King

doi:10.3390/vaccines11050907

The Psychology of COVID-19 Booster Hesitancy, Acceptance and Resistance in Australia

Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Apr 27;11(5):907. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11050907.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
² Sydney Nursing School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
³ Faculty of Law and Justice, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁵ School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 0627, New Zealand.
⁶ School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

Abstract

COVID-19 booster vaccinations have been recommended as a primary line of defence against serious illness and hospitalisation. This study identifies and characterises distinct profiles of attitudes towards vaccination, particularly the willingness to get a booster dose. A sample of 582 adults from Australia completed an online survey capturing COVID-related behaviours, beliefs and attitudes and a range of sociodemographic, psychological, political, social and cultural variables. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) identified three subgroups: Acceptant (61%), Hesitant (30%) and Resistant (9%). Compared to the Acceptant group, the Hesitant and Resistant groups were less worried about catching COVID-19, used fewer official COVID-19 information sources, checked the news less, were lower on the agreeableness personality dimension and reported more conservatism, persecutory thinking, amoral attitudes and need for chaos. The Hesitant group also reported checking the legitimacy of information sources less, scored lower on the openness to new experiences personality dimension and were more likely than the Resistant and Acceptant groups to report regaining freedoms (e.g., travel) and work requirements or external pressures as reasons to get a booster. The Resistant group were higher on reactance, held more conspiratorial beliefs and rated their culture as being less tolerant of deviance than the Hesitant and Acceptant groups. This research can inform tailored approaches to increasing booster uptake and optimal strategies for public health messaging.

Keywords: COVID-19; booster hesitancy; latent profile analysis; public health policy; vaccine hesitancy.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funds. It was supported by the internal Booster Grant on the project titled: Psychology of self-regulated choices during the pandemic, School of Psychology, University of Sydney.