Emotional Response Patterns and COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions & Uptake in Two Approximated Nationally Representative U.S. Samples: A Latent Profile Analysis Replication Study

Despite the role that emotions have in influencing health behaviors, limited research has systematically investigated their role in COVID-19 vaccination decisions compared to the role of cognitions in vaccine behavior. This study aimed to (a) identify groups of adults with similar emotional responses to COVID-19 <i>via</i> latent profile analysis and (b) examine differences in vaccine intentions and uptake between emotion groups. Data were drawn from two samples designed to approximate nationally representative samples of US adults. The first survey (<i>N</i> = 3,853) was administered between December 2020 and January 2021, amid emergency authorization for COVID-19 vaccination. The second survey (<i>N</i> = 3,528) was administered in August 2021, alongside FDA COVID-19 vaccination approval. Five emotion profiles were replicated across the samples: "Emotionally Unaffected," "Contempt," "Low Emotional Effect," "Moderate Emotional Effect," and "High Emotional Effect," which were differentially associated with vaccine intentions and behavior. Negative emotions varied in their effects: Participants in the "Contempt" group were most likely to reject the vaccine (Sample 1) and remain unvaccinated (Sample 2), whereas those in the "High Emotional Effect" group were less likely to be vaccine hesitant (Sample 1) and had the highest vaccination rates (Sample 2). Concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine also varied by emotion group among unvaccinated participants (Sample 2). Taken together, these novel findings highlight the need for emotion-responsive public health messaging. We suggest that COVID-19 vaccine communication strategies should be tailored to address people's distinct emotional responses, including those driven by anger and disgust, to improve the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns.