Germany under the Tinfoil Hat? The associations of the big five personality traits and coronavirus conspiracy beliefs with the intention to get vaccinated

IF 4.7 3区医学 Q1 INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Journal of Infection and Public Health Pub Date : 2024-08-17 DOI:10.1016/j.jiph.2024.102519

Stefan Poier , Anna Maria Nikodemska-Wołowik

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The governments of democracies worldwide are relying on the active cooperation of their populations to combat COVID-19. Simultaneously, beliefs in conspiracy theories surrounding the pandemic have flourished. The present article examines the effects of the big five personality traits and conspiracy beliefs on the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Germany.

Methods

This correlational, cross-sectional mediation analysis was conducted using data from a nationwide German household panel (N = 1390).

Results

Openness to experience (β = −.082, p = .004) and neuroticism (β = .112, p < .001) showed direct effects on conspiracy beliefs, while conspiracy beliefs had the strongest effect on vaccination intention (β = −.424, p < .001). Indirect positive effects of openness (β = .035, p = .005) and negative effects of neuroticism (β = −.047, p < .001) on the intention to get vaccinated via conspiracy beliefs were identified, with a mediation in the strict sense only for openness. No direct or total effect of the big five on vaccination intention could be found.

Conclusions

The big five personality traits are associated, although indirectly, with the intention to be vaccinated. Compared with similar studies on the effects of the big five on COVID-19-related outcomes, we found slightly higher proportions of explained variance in conspiracy beliefs and significantly higher explained variance in vaccination intention. In order to increase the willingness to be vaccinated, targeted and nationwide uniform information measures should be provided addressing feelings of security, of not being excluded, and the activation of critical reasoning.

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锡箔帽下的德国？五大性格特征和冠状病毒阴谋信念与接种疫苗意向的关联。

背景：全球民主国家的政府正依靠民众的积极合作来抗击 COVID-19。与此同时，围绕着这一流行病的阴谋论信念也在蓬勃发展。本文研究了五大人格特质和阴谋论信念对德国人接种 COVID-19 疫苗意向的影响：结果：经验开放度（β=5）和阴谋论信念（β=5）对接种 COVID-19 疫苗的意向有显著影响：结果：经验开放性（β = -.082，p = .004）和神经质（β = .112，p 结论：五大人格特质与 COVID-19 相关：五大性格特征与接种疫苗的意愿有间接关系。与有关五大人格特质对 COVID-19 相关结果影响的类似研究相比，我们发现阴谋论信念的解释方差比例略高，而疫苗接种意愿的解释方差则明显更高。为了提高人们接种疫苗的意愿，应该提供有针对性的、全国统一的信息措施，以解决安全感、不被排斥感和批判性推理的激活问题。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Infection and Public Health PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH -INFECTIOUS DISEASES

CiteScore

13.10

自引率

1.50%

发文量

203

审稿时长

96 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Infection and Public Health, first official journal of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and the Saudi Association for Public Health, aims to be the foremost scientific, peer-reviewed journal encompassing infection prevention and control, microbiology, infectious diseases, public health and the application of healthcare epidemiology to the evaluation of health outcomes. The point of view of the journal is that infection and public health are closely intertwined and that advances in one area will have positive consequences on the other. The journal will be useful to all health professionals who are partners in the management of patients with communicable diseases, keeping them up to date. The journal is proud to have an international and diverse editorial board that will assist and facilitate the publication of articles that reflect a global view on infection control and public health, as well as emphasizing our focus on supporting the needs of public health practitioners. It is our aim to improve healthcare by reducing risk of infection and related adverse outcomes by critical review, selection, and dissemination of new and relevant information in the field of infection control, public health and infectious diseases in all healthcare settings and the community.