Examining Psychological Characteristics and Attitudes towards Vaccination During the Pandemic: Implications for Public Health Development

Vaccine hesitancy has been declared a threat to global health, and with the rampant spread of the deadly pandemic, the need for swift and widespread vaccine uptake is the need of the hour. Several factors affect the reasons behind the acceptance or rejection of vaccines. This study intends to examine the significant association between the factors of personality and factors of vaccine hesitancy. The online survey was conducted with a sample of 100 Indian citizens from the city of Mumbai who were 18-59 years of age. The study sample included adults aged 18-59 from Mumbai region, India. The Big 5 inventory was used as a personality measure and the 5C Scale was used to measure the factors of vaccine hesitancy. Results showed that openness had a weak negative relationship with Constraints and a weak positive relationship with Calculation. Data also showed that conscientiousness had a weak association with Complacency and a weak positive relationship with Calculation. Extraversion had a moderate negative relationship with Complacency. There was a significant relationship between neuroticism and complacency. Regression analyses showed that openness as a significant predictor of Calculation and extraversion as a significant predictor of Complacency. Regression analyses also showed that agreeableness as a significant predictor of Constraints Confidence, Collective responsibility and neuroticism as a significant predictor of complacency. The factors of personality and the factors vaccine hesitancy does show significant relations with each other. This information can be useful when developing campaigns for vaccine uptake and awareness. Implications and future scope for research is discussed.