Publication
Title
Kicking against the pricks : vaccine skeptics have a different social orientation
Author
Abstract
Background: In any country, part of the population is sceptical about the utility of vaccination. To develop successful vaccination programmes, it is important to study and understand the defining characteristics of vaccine sceptics. Research till now mainly focused either on the underlying motives of vaccine refusal, or on socio-demographic differences between vaccine sceptics and non-sceptics. It remained till now unexplored whether both groups differ in terms of basic psychological dispositions. Methods: We held a population survey in a representative sample of the population in Flanders, Belgium (N = 1050), in which we investigated whether respondents attitude to vaccination was associated with their basic disposition toward other community members or society in general, as measured by the Triandis and Gelfand social orientation scale. Results: We found that sceptics and non-sceptics have a different social orientation, even when several variables are controlled for. More specifically, vaccine sceptics scored significantly lower on both horizontal individualism and horizontal collectivism, indicating a lower disposition to see others as equals. Conclusion: These findings need confirmation in the context of different countries. Such insights can be valuable to optimize the design of effective communication strategies on vaccination programmes.
Language
English
Source (journal)
European journal of public health. - Oxford, 1991, currens
Publication
Oxford : 2014
ISSN
1101-1262 [print]
1464-360X [online]
DOI
10.1093/EURPUB/CKT080
Volume/pages
24 :2 (2014) , p. 310-314
ISI
000334101000029
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Efficiency, equity and autonomy: the ethics of vaccination policy.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 26.03.2014
Last edited 09.10.2023
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