COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy of adolescents with psychiatric disorders and their parents: data from a child psychiatry outpatient clinic.

Background: Vaccinating adolescents and determining the factors influencing their vaccination status are critical in the event of a pandemic. One of the factors affecting vaccination is vaccine hesitancy, which is an increasing problem worldwide. Vaccine hesitancy and the vaccination rates of some special groups, such as psychiatric patients and their families, may differ from the general population. The purpose of this study was to identify any vaccine hesitancy to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in adolescents evaluated in a child psychiatry outpatient clinic, as well as to determine the factors influencing vaccination in these adolescents and their families.

Methods: Two hundred forty-eight adolescents examined in the child psychiatry outpatient clinic were evaluated using a semi-structured psychiatric interview, strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), the fear of COVID-19 scale, and a form about coronavirus vaccine hesitancy. The parents completed the vaccine hesitancy scale and answered the vaccine hesitancy questions.

Results: The vaccination rate was higher in patients with anxiety disorders. The patient`s age (odds ratio [OR]:1.59; 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.26, 2.02), the parent`s vaccine hesitancy (OR: 0.91; CI:0.87-0.95), the status of chronic disease in a family member (OR: 2.26; CI:1.10, 4.65), and the vaccination status of the adolescent`s parents (OR:7.40; CI:1.39, 39.34) were found to be predictive for adolescent vaccination. While 2.8% of the adolescents said that they were definitely against getting vaccinated, 7.7% were undecided. While the rate of undecided parents was 7.3%, those who were against vaccination was 1.6%.

Conclusions: Age, parental vaccine hesitancy, and parental vaccination status can affect the vaccination of adolescents admitted to a child psychiatry clinic. Recognizing vaccine hesitancy in adolescents admitted to a child psychiatry clinic and in their families is beneficial for public health.