COVİD-19 Vaccine Hesitancy:The Mediating Role of Psychological and Political Factors

The aim of this study is to investigate the psycho-political factors (i.e., the sense of control loss, trust in authorities, conspiracy mentality, dichotomous thinking, and intolerance of uncertainty) underlying the vaccine hesitancy that may adversely affect the fight against pandemics such as COVID-19. The sample consisted of 209 university students (75.12%) and staff (24.88%). Participants completed a package of questionnaires, including Vaccine Hesitancy Scale, Dichotomous Thinking Inventory, Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire, alongside with questions aimed to measure Trust in Authorities, and Loss of Control during pandemic. The results of serial mediational analysis showed that the sense of control loss during pandemic led to vaccine hesitancy via distrust in authorities, conspiracy mentality, and dichotomous thinking. These results indicate the need to take measures to reduce ambiguity in public communications and to build trust between the authorities and the public in order to maintain a psychologically and politically healthy environment.