Vaccine Hesitancy and Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 Misinformation in Japanese Youth: The Contribution of Personality Traits and National Identity

Abstract

During the pandemic, the Japanese government drew upon the cultural concept of jishuku, or personal self-constraint, requesting that individuals accept responsibility for their behaviors and consider minimizing the potential negative impact on others. While the jishuku approach to pandemic management rests upon the established and persuasive influence of cultural norms, variability in adherence can be expected according to age. This article documents an investigation into factors impacting vaccine hesitancy and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation among Japanese youth. The point of departure is the belief that attitudes and behaviors, such as those underpinning the jishuku approach to pandemic management, arise from within a relational framework. Therefore, developmental characteristics, such as personality traits, and in-group affinity attachments, such as facets of national identity, can be expected to function as predictors of health attitudes and behaviors. The tested structural model of hypothesized interactions accounted for 14% of the observed variance in vaccine hesitancy and 20% in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation. With the inclusion of gender, political ideology, and trust in government SARS-CoV-2 response as control variables, the respecified model increased the amount of variance observed in vaccine hesitancy to 30% and to 25% in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation. The outcomes are discussed in relation to the communication of coherent public health discourse relative to personality traits and facets of national identity.

Keywords: Japan; SARS-CoV-2; misinformation; national identity; personality; vaccination; youth.

Figure 1

Subset-item-parcel-approach.

Figure 2

The initially tested structural model. Method ML (χ² = 827.336 (DF = 370), p ≤ 0.001, NC = 2.236, IFI = 0.939, CFI = 0.938, and RMSEA = 0.049). EXT = extraversion, AGR = agreeableness, CON = conscientiousness, EST = emotional stability, IMA = imagination, COM = commitment to national heritage, NAT = nationalism, PAT = patriotism, VAC = vaccine hesitancy, MIS = susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation. The permitted covariances include EXT–AGR (0.29 ***), EXT–CON (0.09 **), EXT–EST (−0.20 ***), EXT–IMA (0.35 ***), AGR–CON (0.08 ***), AGR–IMA (0.09 **), CON–EST (−0.13 ***), NAT–COM (0.46 ***), COM–PAT (0.28 ***), NAT–PAT (0.24 ***), MIS–VAC (0.23 ***). Standardized regression weights and covariances (** p ≤ 0.01, *** p ≤ 0.001).

Figure 3

The tested structural model. Method ML (χ² = 934.885 (DF = 441), p ≤ 0.001, NC = 2.120, IFI = 0.936, CFI = 0.935, and RMSEA = 0.047) EXT = extraversion, AGR = agreeableness, CON = conscientiousness, EST = emotional stability, IMA = imagination, COM = commitment to national heritage, NAT = nationalism, PAT = patriotism, VAC = vaccine hesitancy, MIS = susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 misinformation. The permitted covariances include EXT–AGR (0.30 ***), EXT–CON (0.09 **), EXT–EST (−0.20 ***), EXT–IMA (0.24 ***), AGR–CON (0.08 ***), AGR–IMA (0.09 **), CON–EST (−0.13 ***), NAT–COM (0.42 ***), COM–PAT (0.21 ***), NAT–PAT (0.20 ***), MIS–VAC (0.17 ***), political ideology–government trust (0.11 **), gender–EXT (0.05 *), gender–EST (0.07 ***), gender–IMA (−0.05 *), gender–government trust (−0.06 *), gender–political ideology (−0.04 *). Standardized regression weights and covariances (* p ≤ 0.05, ** p ≤ 0.01, *** p ≤ 0.001).