Negative Social Influences Research Articles

Factors Inhibiting Persuasive Communication of Agricultural Extension Workers Through Internet Media in Accelerating Information Dissemination in Farmer Women Groups in Ponorogo Regency, Indonesia

The development of digital information technology today allows the use of various media for agricultural extension. The internet has become an important medium in disseminating information, including for agricultural extension workers and farmer women groups. Agricultural extension workers have a crucial role in conveying information persuasively and are expected to utilize internet media to support their tasks and accelerate the dissemination of information to farmers. This study examines the obstacles in persuasive communication carried out by agricultural extension workers using internet media to accelerate the dissemination of information to Farmer Women Groups in Ponorogo Regency. The method used is qualitative descriptive with data analysis through in-depth interviews and participatory observation. The informants in this study consisted of agricultural extension workers and members of farmer women groups in Babadan District. The results of the study showed that there were technical obstacles such as lack of technological facilities and uneven internet access, as well as time limitations due to the dual roles of group members. Low digital literacy is also an obstacle, influenced by age, low education, and lack of technological experience. Behavioral barriers include a preference for in-person counseling and age stereotypes, where older members lack confidence in using technology. The influence of the social environment also plays a role. The suggested solutions include increasing digital literacy, improving technological infrastructure, and handling stereotypes and negative social influences to increase the effectiveness of counseling.

Examining ChatGPT adoption among educators in higher educational institutions using extended UTAUT model

PurposeBased on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, this study aims to explore the factors influencing educators’ acceptance and utilization of chat generative pretrained transformer (ChatGPT) in the context of higher educational institutions. This study additionally examines the moderating influence of trust on the association between intention and adoption of ChatGPT.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was disseminated to 1,214 educators following the purposive sampling method. The hypothesized relationships between the extended UTAUT model constructs and ChatGPT adoption were examined using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results of this study indicate positive impact of ChatGPT adoption and its use behavior (UB) among educators. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, facilitating conditions and habit have a positive impact on behavior intention to use this tool among educators in higher education institutions, However, the educators intend to use ChatGPT in a personal capacity and are negatively influenced by the social groups. Moreover, behavior intention to adopt ChatGPT has a larger effect on the UB due to the higher involvement of trust.Practical implicationsThis research adds to the literature on technology adoption by emphasizing the significance of trust in the adoption of emerging technologies, such as big language models. This study’s findings have implications for ChatGPT technology developers, legislators and academics considering the implementation of ChatGPT for teaching and research.Originality/valueThis research investigates ChatGPT adoption among higher education educators using the UTAUT model. It emphasizes the role of trust in adoption, highlights key adoption factors and reveals a paradox: educators are personally inclined to use ChatGPT but hesitant due to negative social influence. This study's novelty lies in its focus on trust and its implications for developers, legislators and educators, offering valuable insights for integrating ChatGPT in education.

A Review of Cross Cultural Studies on World Fandom Culture in the Context of World Cultural Diversity: Taking China and the United States as Examples

While the world economy is developing rapidly, the way of information media is becoming more and more diversified, and under the multiple effects of politics, economy and culture, a new group has gradually arisen fandom. In China, fandom originates from celebrities' fan circles, a group formed spontaneously by fans for their Idol (the celebrities favored by the fan groups). This group communicates with each other on the Internet, and in reality, and helps celebrities to promote themselves, beat the charts, and vote for the celebrities. In the process of development, the radicalization of these groups and the social influence they produce cannot be underestimated. In recent years, fandom culture has been expanding and developing, and the degree of wrong value guidance and negative social influence caused by fandom culture has also been expanding. Fandom culture is a topic that has been researched extensively in China. However, it is essential to note that fandom culture is not limited to China alone. It is a global phenomenon that has influenced the cultures of various countries. The impact of fandom culture is not only limited to its sphere but can also be seen in the broader cultural environment. Therefore, cross-cultural research on fandom culture is essential to understand its influence on different cultural environments. This paper will combine the existing research results to analyze and propose the future development trend of fandom culture as a new cut, in order to provide useful reference and guidance for the benign development of fandom culture in China in the future.

Confronting a leadership vacuum: the principal’s leadership role in peace education in South African schools

PurposeThis research aimed to assess the leadership role of principals in the implementation of peace education in selected secondary schools in the Western Cape, South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed qualitative research approach to assess the leadership role of principals in the implementation of peace education in selected secondary schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. Data were gathered from a small sample of six principals from six selected secondary schools which were engaged in the implementation of a peace education programme, and data were analysed using thematic content analyses.FindingsFindings of the study suggest that principals possess a low level of understanding or awareness of their leadership role in the implementation of peace education. The study pointed out the constraints such as time constraints and learners' negative attitudes and social influences hinder the effective implementation of peace education in selected secondary schools.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the data were self-reported and therefore subject to social desirability bias; participants may have provided socially desirable responses rather than their true belief or experiences. Thus, participants may have overstated their role in and commitment to the peace education programme.Originality/valueStudies that aim to explore alternative approaches to combat violence, such as peace education, are still limited in South Africa. Hence, this paper served to close that gap by contributing to the growing body of research on the leadership role of the principal in the implementation of peace education in the school and exploring barriers hampering its effective implementation.

Education of moral culture as a guide for the professional formation of the future teacher

The article substantiates the relevance of the problem of educating the moral culture of the future teacher of the New Ukrainian School. The need to educate such a phenomenon as «moral culture” as one of the main directions of professional formation of the future specialist is revealed. It has been proven that the priority task of higher education institutions is the formation of the personality of the future teacher, who performs moral actions, does not succumb to negative social influences, has a stable personal position, strives for moral self-expression and self-control, etc. Emphasis is placed on the fact that education of moral culture, through substantiation of its integral system (purpose, tasks, specific principles, optimal forms, methods of formation) will contribute to the professional development of the future teacher.
 The author emphasizes that the process of raising the moral culture of the future teacher takes place through his active involvement in the awareness of universal human norms and values, understanding of the moral guidelines of the profession, inclusion in those conditions that will allow the future teacher to reveal his own potential, reveal moral feelings, and perform moral actions at the stage of professional development while studying at a higher education institution.
 Moral culture is defined as a set of moral norms, habits, views, beliefs, norms of behavior, which is oriented towards training and education of the personality, its self-improvement. This is a set of norms that reveal the future teacher's attitude to himself and to other participants in the educational process (students, fellow teachers, parents, school administration, etc.). It was established that the basis of the moral culture of the future teacher is love for children. The author attributes the following to the main signs of the moral culture of the future teacher: cognitive, emotional, value and activity components.
 It was found that the moral culture education of the future teacher is a process of education of the personality of the teacher, who: shows a desire to work on himself, improving his own moral values; strives to actively interact with students and nurture these qualities in them; is able to make moral choices, make moral decisions and be responsible for them.

Socio-psychological indicators of personal safety in the educational environment

This article is devoted to the problem of psychological safety of the individual in the educational environment. The characteristics of security, safety and trust in relations with teachers and peers were studied in the adolescent and youth group. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state of some socio-psychological indicators of personal security in the educational environment in connection with the aggressiveness and level of depression of students. A continuous monitoring of the safety of the educational environment was carried out using the cross-sectional method through an electronic survey. Methods: A Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), a Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ-24), questionnaire. Sampling: 244,143 students of 6–11 grades of schools, colleges and universities of the Republic of Tatarstan; 52,7% of boys and 47,3% of girls; age from 12 to 23 years. The risk group included 860 people with a high total index of aggressiveness and depression (0,35% of the total sampling, 64% of them are boys). The study found that students at risk group are exposed to bullying in the educational environment more often than their peers. They describe relationships with peers and teachers as unsafe and note a lack of help and support. Aggressiveness and the level of depression have statistically significant correlations (p 0,001) with all manifestations of violence and insecurity and can serve as reliable and valid subjective markers of a person's psychological safety in the educational space. In this way, the socio-psychological indicators of psychological safety in the educational environment are the characteristics of relations between the subjects of educational interaction, personal experience of bullying, insecurity, lack of support, aggressiveness and the level of depression of students. The results of the study can be used to prevent deviant behavior among adolescents who are most vulnerable to negative social influences.

Barriers and facilitators of physical activity in adults with severe haemophilia: A qualitative study.

People with haemophilia (PWH) tend to be less physically active than the general population, but there is a lack of research on the specific barriers and facilitators affecting their participation in physical activities. This study aims to explore perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity in severe PWH. An explorative qualitative study based on focus groups. Four focus groups including 16 participants (severe haemophilia A patients) were conducted to examine the factors perceived as facilitators or barriers to haemophiliacs engaging in physical activity. One researcher conducted a thematic analysis of all data. Three themes were identified: body function, personal factors, and environmental factors. Key facilitators identified were access to prophylaxis treatment to reduce the risk of bleeding(s), the enjoyability of physical activity, fitness and health motives, social interaction, support, and low cost. PWH faced additional barriers to being physically active including hurtful joints, mobility issues, haemophilic arthropathy, dislike or disinterest, lack of motivation, fear of injury, tiredness, lack of time, lack of guidance, negative social influence, restriction, and lack of coordination of prophylaxis treatment. This exploratory study demonstrated that participation in physical activity in PWH is influenced not only by their own abilities and attitudes, but also by external variables, including family, friends, healthcare professionals, structures, and communities. The results of this study may be used to assist caregivers and health professionals, inform programs, interventions, and policies to promote physical activity and health in severe PWH.

Video Audio Hosting (Internet video, YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia marketing & training strategies)

The objective of this study is to investigate the reasons for making online videos on platforms like Wistia, Twitch and YouTube. The available technologies and tools offered by the video sharing platforms have made the private online activities more professionalized. Even the practice of creating video content is becoming increasingly professionalized and commercialized. The motivations from outsides, which are frequently linked with work, i.e., the external factors are still more important for content creation than intrinsic motivations, which are connected to recreational work. This study illustrates how social impact affects the ideal subscription model for online video platforms. Paid, free, and trial strategies play the major role in choosing the strategy. Positive social influence and negative social influence are two cases provided by revenue models. This study summarizes the different video websites, relationship among the creators, and the online video which are analyzed in terms of its economics.

Exploring health misinformation on WhatsApp within the African migrant and refugee community in Southeast Queensland (SEQ)

Health misinformation, a major public health challenge, is increasingly spread through social networking sites such as WhatsApp which is popular among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities including the African migrant and refugee community, a relatively disadvantaged minority in Australia. Knowledge remains limited about how health misinformation spread occurs through WhatsApp in this community. The present study explored the mechanism of health misinformation circulation on WhatsApp, and the ways members of the African community in Southeast Queensland (SEQ) respond to it. Findings include a technological aspect of WhatsApp, especially technological affordances that facilitate health misinformation spread with features such as sharing and forwarding buttons. Also, at a user or an individual level, trust in significant others favour the reception and sharing of unverified health information to WhatsApp contacts and group members. Although WhatsApp group members, especially leaders usually set up rules to moderate content including health misinformation to primarily preserve harmony in groups, lack of or suboptimal content moderation on WhatsApp exacerbates its spread among community members whose responses vary. Responses include fear and mistrust which could confuse them and hinder acceptance and compliance to public health measures from credible sources such as governments. Therefore, it is essential that public health stakeholders acknowledge and foster information-sharing culture on WhatsApp in the African community. They should also raise awareness among community members and train them on how to deal with health misinformation. The training could focus on reducing negative individual and social influences by improving literacy and self-efficacy in detecting health misinformation and decreasing echo chamber effects. Additionally, the training could emphasise health misinformation management on WhatsApp by leveraging African community leaders’ gatekeeping role and involving them in content moderation.

“It’s not time for us to sit down yet”: how group exercise programs can motivate physical activity and overcome barriers in inactive older adults

ABSTRACT Purpose Physical activity and exercise are critical for older adults’ physical and mental health. The purpose of this qualitative study was to richly capture the motivators of and barriers to engaging in physical activity in previously inactive older adults who participated in a three-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) of eight-week group exercise interventions. Methods We conducted a qualitative content analysis of individual interviews with fifteen participants—five from each study arm: strength training, walking, and inactive control. Participants included nine females and six males ranging from 60 to 86 years of age. Results Key motivators of physical activity included perceived improvements in physical and mental health, positive social influences, observed health deterioration in others, and the desire to spend time with and take care of family members. Barriers to physical activity included existing health conditions, fear of getting hurt, negative social influences, perceived lack of time and motivation, inconvenient times and locations, and monetary cost. Conclusions Our findings add to the body of literature identifying factors that motivate and stand in the way of older adults’ engagement in physical activity. These factors influence older adults’ self-efficacy and should be incorporated into the design of new and existing programs to encourage initiation and maintenance of physical activity.

PENDAMPINGAN REMAJA MASJID SEHAT-SMART - RABANI

Adolescence is a critical period of rapid development, growth and maturation both physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially. During adolescence both boys and girls are able to develop abstractly and critically. They begin to form a sense of who they are and what role they play. Meanwhile social networks develop through the immediate family, environment, peers who play a bigger role in influencing the environment. The development of adolescents is very vulnerable to negative environmental, social and cultural influences which are risk factors for adolescents to get caught up in risky behaviors such as sexuality, HIV/AIDS and drugs that have an impact on their health conditions. Mosque Islamic Youth (RISMA) at Masjdi Al-Ikhlas Gumpang Kartasuro Residential Area was established with the aim of: (1) fostering empowerment and increasing the potential to always fear Allah SWT, (2) having Islamic insight, (3) prospering the mosque, and (4 ) carrying out TPA (Al-Quran Education Park) activities, RISMA Members at the Al-Ikhlas Mosque totaling 20 people. RISMA's empowerment in improving the quality of Islamic life can be seen in RISMA's activities, namely Tadarus Al-Quran, studies on Islamic holidays, such as Maulid Nabi, Isra Mi'raj, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Nuzurul Quran, and Islamic New Year. These activities foster RISMA's behavior in order to become a true Muslim. The attitudes that are trained in RISMA activities improve the quality of Islamic life, including in the quality of character are Sidiq, Fathanah, Amanah, and Tabligh, in the quality of Charity are activities that originate from the conscience who feel happy to preach at the mosque, always spreading benefits, kindness and love for others, and with a quality work ethic, RISMA's activities are able to educate RISMA to be a responsible, creative, dynamic person carrying out activities with good planning and on targetAbstract stands alone in writing, so writers should not use quotations in this section. Abstract should provide a concise and concise explanation to the reader about the problems, objectives, methods, and findings discussed in the paper. Through this information, readers are expected to be able to understand the content and contribution of the writing. Abstract written in a single paragraph (single paragraph) and not more than 200 words. Abstract written in Bahasa Indonesia and English.

Social conformity is associated with inter-trial electroencephalogram variability.

Human society encompasses diverse social influences, and people experience events differently and may behave differently under such influence, including in forming an impression of others. However, little is known about the underlying neural relevance of individual differences in following others' opinions or social norms. In the present study, we designed a series of tasks centered on social influence to investigate the underlying relevance between an individual's degree of social conformity and their neural variability. We found that individual differences under the social influence are associated with the amount of inter-trial electroencephalogram (EEG) variability over multiple stages in a conformity task (making face judgments and receiving social influence). This association was robust in the alpha band over the frontal and occipital electrodes for negative social influence. We also found that inter-trial EEG variability is a very stable, participant-driven internal state measurement and could be interpreted as mindset instability. Overall, these findings support the hypothesis that higher inter-trial EEG variability may be related to higher mindset instability, which makes participants more vulnerable to exposed external social influence. The present study provides a novel approach that considers the stability of one's endogenous neural signal during tasks and links it to human social behaviors.

Changes, differences, and factors of parenthood in high-risk pregnant women and their partners in Japan

BackgroundVarious stressors exists for pregnant women worldwide, especially negative social and environmental influences that can increase the number of high-risk pregnant women. These may cause a difficult transition to parenthood for women and their partners. However, limited studies have focused on and examined parenthood. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the changes in parenthood from pregnancy to post-discharge after childbirth among high-risk pregnant women and their partners, as well as the presence or absence of gender differences and the factors associated with parenthood.MethodsThis longitudinal quantitative study used a self-administered anonymous questionnaire distributed among 127 pregnant women and their partners who visited a high-risk pregnant outpatient clinic. The Scale of Early Childrearing Parenthood (SECP; three subareas, 33 items) was administered thrice: during pregnancy (T1), after childbirth (T2), and after discharge (T3).ResultsThe analysis included 85 T1 (37 fathers and 48 mothers), 36 T2 (13 fathers and 23 mothers), and 31 T3 (11 fathers and 20 mothers) responses. There was a significant increase in the SECP scores for both parents from T1 to T3. Mothers had a greater increase in the SECP scores from T1 to T2 than fathers. In addition, fathers’ mean SECP scores at T1 and T2 were higher compared with those of the mothers. Mothers’ and fathers’ SECP scores at each time point showed no significant differences.At all time points, the SECP scores were commonly and significantly associated with infertility treatment, physical and mental condition, postpartum depression at T2, and parenting stress at T3.ConclusionsBecause parenthood in the infertility treatment group was significantly higher throughout the series, we need to support such couples so that childbirth does not become their main goal. We suggest interventions for factors that impede parenthood development, understand the various backgrounds of the parents, and support the couple individually while also considering them as a unit.

Social value orientation modulates behavioral and neural responses to social influence.

Substantial studies have investigated the social influence effect; however, how individuals with different social value orientations (SVOs), prosocials and proselfs, respond to different social influences remains unknown. This study examines the impact of positive and negative social information on the responses of people with different SVOs. A face-attractiveness assessment task was employed to investigate the relationships between influence probability, memory, and event-related potentials of social influence. A significant interactional effect suggested that prosocials and proselfs reacted differently to positive (group rating was more attractive) and negative (group rating was less attractive) social influences. Specifically, proselfs demonstrated significantly higher influence probability, marginally better recall performance, smaller N400, and larger late positive potential on receiving negative influence information than on receiving positive influence information, while prosocials showed no significant differences. Overall, correlations between N400/LPP, influence probability, and recall performance were significant. The above results indicate the modulating role of SVO when responding to social influence. These findings have important implications for understanding how people conform and how prosocial behavior occurs.

Is Multi-Modal Necessarily Better? Robustness Evaluation of Multi-Modal Fake News Detection

The proliferation of fake news and its serious negative social influence push fake news detection methods to become necessary tools for web managers. Meanwhile, the multi-media nature of social media makes multi-modal fake news detection popular for its ability to capture more modal features than uni-modal detection methods. However, current literature on multi-modal detection is more likely to pursue the detection accuracy but ignore the robustness (the detection ability in the case of abnormality and malicious attack) of the detector. To address this problem, we propose a comprehensive robustness evaluation of multi-modal fake news detectors. In this work, we simulate the attack methods of malicious users and developers, i.e., posting fake news and injecting backdoors. Specifically, we evaluate multi-modal detectors with five adversarial and two backdoor attack methods. Experiment results imply that: (1) The detection performance of the state-of-the-art detectors degrades significantly under adversarial attacks, e.g., BDANN's detection accuracy on malicious news drops by 47% compared to normal, even worse than general detectors (Att-RNN); (2) Most multimodal detectors are more vulnerable to visual modality than textual modality; (3) Backdoor attacks on popular events news severely degrade detectors (accuracy dropped by an average of 20%); (4) These detectors degrade more (another 2% reduction in accuracy) when subjected to multi-modal attacks; (5) Defense methods will improve the robustness of multi-modal detectors, but cannot fully resist the effects of malicious attacks.

Unwanted Teenage Pregnancy and Its Complications: A Narrative Review.

Teenage pregnancy may have a huge negative social and medical influence on mothers' and children's health globally. Compared to adult primigravida, young women experience more harmful perinatal problems, such as premature births, neonatal fatalitiesand stillbirths, and the delivery of children with low birth weight. With negative perinatal outcomes, in India, teenage pregnancy is still a widespread and important public health issue that needs urgent attention. One of the main causes of mortality for females between the ages of 15 and 19 is pregnancy and delivery problems. The health of young women in India is, therefore, seriously threatened by adolescent pregnancies. Neonatal and maternal difficulties are more common when a teen gets pregnant. To bring about change, avert problems, and lower the risk of maternal death, specialized antenatal care (ANC) and health education are crucial. In India, teenage pregnancy is very high. To prevent this, there is a need to focus on teenage education regarding safe sexual practices and pregnancy complications.

Barriers and enablers to deprescribing in long-term care: A qualitative investigation into the opinions of healthcare professionals in Ireland.

The prevalence of polypharmacy increases with age, increasing the exposure of older adults to potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). Deprescribing has been shown to reduce PIMs for older residents in long-term care; however, deprescribing is not universally implemented. This study aims to identify the barriers and enablers to deprescribing in Irish long-term care facilities from the healthcare professionals' (HCPs) perspective. A qualitative descriptive approach was conducted using semi-structured interviews with HCPs working in long-term care (general practitioners, pharmacists and nurses). Purposive sampling with maximum variation was applied to select long-term care sites to identify HCPs, supplemented with convenience sampling of post-graduate HCPs from University College Cork. Data was thematically analysed and mapped to a framework of deprescribing barriers and enablers informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework. Twenty-six HCPs participated from 13 long-term care facilities. The main barriers and enablers identified mapped to five domains. Barriers included insufficient resources, lack of co-ordination between healthcare settings and negative social influences. Additional barriers exist in private settings including deprescribing awareness, commitment and the need for incentives. Deprescribing enablers included interprofessional support and patient social influence. To encourage deprescribing, potential enablers include HCP education, pharmacist role expansion and tailored deprescribing guidelines within a structured process. Interventions to support deprescribing should build on existing systems, involve stakeholders and utilise guidelines within a structured process. Any intervention must account for the nuanced barriers and enablers which exist in both public and private settings.

Parental Influence on Child and Adolescent Physical Activity Level: A Meta-Analysis.

Parents are often regarded as one of the significant social agents who are important to the participation of physical activity (PA) among children and adolescents. However, within the literature, the relationships between parental influences and child and adolescent PA have been inconclusive and discordant. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to quantify and synthesize the associations between parental social influences (positive parental influence, punishment, and discouragement) and the PA level of children and adolescents. Through a systematic literature search using PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest, and SPORTDiscus databases, we identified 112 eligible studies and subsequently extracted 741 effect sizes for our analysis. Multilevel meta-analysis showed that the corrected zero-order correlation of positive parental influence was positive and statistically significant, r = 0.202, SE = 0.014, t = 14.975, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.176, 0.228]. Further moderation analysis also found that this was significantly moderated by parental gender (maternal vs. paternal), respondent of influence measure (parent-reported vs. child-reported), and type of PA measure (subjective vs. objective). The corrected zero-order correlations of negative parental influences (i.e., punishment and discouragement) were not statistically significant, and no significant moderation effects were observed. The findings of our meta-analysis showed that children and adolescents had higher PA levels when their parents supported PA participation by exerting positive social influence. Punishment and discouragement against PA by parents did not appear to be significantly associated with the PA level of children and adolescents. The findings of negative parental social influence were mixed and required further investigations.

“I’m scared that if I have the vaccine, it’s going to make my lung condition worse, not better.” COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in adults with underlying health conditions – A qualitative investigation

BackgroundSustained uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, including booster doses, will continue to be key to minimising morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19. Because hesitancy can affect people’s motivation to get vaccinated, understanding and addressing factors influencing acceptance is critical to achieving high uptake. This is especially the case for adults with underlying health conditions, who are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. The aim of this study was to investigate barriers and facilitators of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in adults with underlying health conditions during the initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Australia. MethodsWe conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 15 adults with underlying health conditions in New South Wales (NSW) in April 2021, focusing on their previous vaccination experiences and feelings about COVID-19 vaccination. We categorised participants as accepting, hesitant or refusing. We analysed interviews thematically, informed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Behavioural and Social Drivers of Vaccination framework. ResultsMost (12/15) participants were hesitant about COVID-19 vaccination. Barriers to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance included concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness; heightened perceptions of risk regarding the vaccines; low perceptions of COVID-19 risk; and negative social influences. Facilitators included perceived benefits of vaccination and positive social influences. ConclusionsFor some adults with underlying health conditions, perceptions of heightened vulnerability to COVID-19 vaccine side effects contributed to vaccine hesitancy during the initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. We recommend supporting GPs and specialists to proactively reach out and recommend COVID-19 vaccination to this population; encouraging chronic disease organisations to act as trusted advocates of COVID-19 vaccination; and actively communicating evolving knowledge about vaccine safety.

Social learning across adolescence: A Bayesian neurocognitive perspective

Adolescence is a period of social re-orientation in which we are generally more prone to peer influence and the updating of our beliefs based on social information, also called social learning, than in any other stage of our life. However, how do we know when to use social information and whose information to use and how does this ability develop across adolescence? Here, we review the social learning literature from a behavioral, neural and computational viewpoint, focusing on the development of brain systems related to executive functioning, value-based decision-making and social cognition. We put forward a Bayesian reinforcement learning framework that incorporates social learning about value associated with particular behavior and uncertainty in our environment and experiences. We discuss how this framework can inform us about developmental changes in social learning, including how the assessment of uncertainty and the ability to adaptively discriminate between information from different social sources change across adolescence. By combining reward-based decision-making in the domains of both informational and normative influence, this framework explains both negative and positive social peer influence in adolescence.