Purpose in life and shingles vaccination and infection

Purpose in life is a positive psychological resource associated with preventive behavior and better health outcomes in older adulthood. This study examines whether purpose is associated with likelihood of getting vaccinated against shingles and likelihood of having had shingles. Participants in the Health and Retirement Study ( N = 14,066; M age = 68.13, SD = 10.29) reported on their purpose in life. Vaccine uptake and having had shingles was aggregated across eight waves from 2008 to 2022. Every standard deviation of purpose was associated with a 16% higher likelihood of having received the shingles vaccine (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.12–1.20). This association was independent of depressive symptoms and did not vary by sex, race, ethnicity, or education. The association was slightly stronger among relatively older adults, perhaps because the recommended age of vaccination changed during the study period. Purpose was unrelated to having had shingles. Leveraging purpose in life could be a promising target to increase uptake of the shingles vaccine.