Barriers and facilitators of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19: Role of prosociality, authoritarianism and conspiracy mentality. A four-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

AimWe investigated longitudinal relations between individual willingness to undergo vaccination against COVID-19 and three social factors: conspiracy mentality, prosociality, and authoritarianism. MethodThis longitudinal study comprised four measurement points. The first wave sample included 1130 responses and was representative of the Polish population in terms of gender, age, and place of residence. Analyses were performed using random intercept cross-lagged panel models. ResultsWe observed bidirectional positive cross-lagged relationships between prosociality and willingness to undergo vaccination in the first three waves of measurement. Authoritarianism and conspiracy mentality translated into a lower willingness to vaccinate between the third and fourth points of measurement when the vaccination became a near-term possibility. ConclusionsEliciting prosocial motivation to vaccinate can be paramount in overcoming vaccine hesitancy. Because conspiracy thinking may be a crucial barrier to willingness to be vaccinated, it is critical to focus on planning interventions and campaigns undermining conspiracy theories about COVID-19.