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. 2023 Jan 4:13:1024614.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1024614. eCollection 2022.

COVID-19 vaccination intention: The combined role of pathogen disgust and trust in government

Shun Peng  1 , Jiwen Chen  1 , Lei Xu  1
Affiliations

COVID-19 vaccination intention: The combined role of pathogen disgust and trust in government

Shun Peng et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the joint effect of pathogen disgust and trust in government on COVID-19 vaccination intention and to examine the mediating role of COVID-19 worry. The data was collected from July to September 2021 in mainland China by using Questionnaire Star, 2,244 valid cases were obtained among a total of 2,251 participants investigated, with an effective rate of 89.37%. The results indicated the following: (1) Individuals' COVID-19 vaccination intention was significantly higher when "congruence was high" than when "congruence was low", given comparable levels of pathogen disgust and trust in government. (2) There were no significant differences in individual COVID-19 vaccination intention with incongruence levels of pathogen disgust and trust in government. (3) The combination of pathogen disgust and trust in government can influence COVID-19 vaccination intention through COVID-19 worry. Findings illustrate that individuals with high trust in government and pathogen disgust have higher intentions. Trust in government and pathogen disgust positively predicted COVID-19 worry and reinforced individuals' intention to COVID-19 vaccination. The results have important implications for the future prevention and control of the new coronavirus, as well as providing a new perspective on COVID-19 vaccination intentions.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccination intention; COVID-19 worry; pathogen disgust; trust in government.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mediation model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Response surface plot of pathogen disgust, trust in government, and COVID-19 vaccine intention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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