Risk-Perception Change Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine's Side Effects: The Role of Individual Differences.

Laura Colautti,Sara Magenes,Alessandro Antonietti,Paola Iannello,Alice Cancer

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031189

Abstract

The COVID-19 vaccine appears to be a crucial requirement to fight the pandemic. However, a part of the population possesses negative attitudes towards the vaccine. The spread of conspiracy theories and contradictory information about the pandemic have altered the population’s perception of risk. The risk-perception of the vaccine’s side effects may be affected by individual differences. The complex relationship between risk-perception and individual differences is relevant when people have to make decisions based on ambiguous and constantly changing information, as in the early phases of the Italian vaccination campaign. The present study aimed at measuring the effect of individual differences in risk-perception associated with the COVID-19 vaccine’s side effects in a context characterized by information ambiguity. An online survey was conducted to classify a sample of Italian pro-vaccine people into cognitive/behavioral style groups. Furthermore, changes in vaccine risk-perception after inconsistent communications regarding the vaccine’s side effects were compared between groups. The results showed that “analytical” individuals did not change their perception regarding the probability of vaccine side effects but changed their perception regarding the severity of side effects; “open” and “polarized” individuals neither changed their perception regarding the probability nor of the severity of side effects, showing a different kind of information processing, which could interfere with an informed decision-making process.

Highlights

It is plausible that risk-perception of the vaccine’s side effects can be affected by the individual characteristics previously described, i.e., a tendency to believe in conspiracy theories, cognitive style, impulsivity, tolerance for ambiguity, and desire for cognitive closure
Despite there being a significant amount of research investigating negative attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine, there is a lack of studies which explore the individual characteristics of those who are prone to receive the vaccine or who have already been vaccinated
The aims of our study were (a) to classify into groups a sample of Italian people reporting a positive attitude towards the vaccine, on the bases of several individual differences, which are relevant for processing vaccine information, i.e., a tendency to believe in conspiracy theories, cognitive style, impulsivity, cognitive closure, and tolerance for ambiguity; and (b) to compare the change of vaccine risk-perception by investigating the two dimensions of probability and severity between the identified groups, after inconsistent communication of the side effects associated with the vaccine

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. More than 20 months after the announcement of the COVID-19 spread, we are still in the midst of a worldwide unprecedented emergency, from different points of view, including health, social, and economic perspectives [1]. Despite the restrictive measures adopted by the whole world, the vaccine seems to be the only way to get back to a “normal”. Since the early stage of the vaccination campaign, which began in December 2020 in most European countries (including Italy), serious side effects have been recorded for all types of vaccines. Italy’s eighth COVID-19 Vaccine Pharmacovigilance Report [2]

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