Black‐and‐white thinking and conspiracy beliefs prevent parents from vaccinating their children against COVID‐19

Abstract

Understanding predictors of parents' willingness to vaccinate their children appears fundamental to promote vaccine acceptability, especially in a pandemic scenario. The present study aimed to investigate the role of conspiracy beliefs and absolutist thinking in parental attitude toward COVID‐19 vaccine, and the predictive role of parents' individual differences on decisions against children's vaccination. An online survey was administered to 415 parents of children aged 5–11, at the very beginning of the vaccination targeting this population in Italy. Results showed that absolutism predicted the tendency to believe in conspiracies, associated with a negative attitude toward the COVID‐19 vaccine administration to children. Moreover, mothers were less willing to vaccinate children and parents of children aged 5–7 were more hesitant, or even against vaccination, than parents of older children. Finally, the worry about consequences of COVID‐19 infection on children's health facilitated vaccine adherence. These findings contribute to deepening mechanisms regarding the vaccine acceptability.

The role of conspiracy mindset in reducing support for child vaccination for COVID-19 in the United States

“…A recent cross-sectional study found that willingness to vaccinate children for COVID in the US before those vaccines were authorized for this age group was inversely related to belief in various vaccine conspiracies (Allen et al, 2023). A study in Italy found a similar result (Iannello et al, 2022). Using a panel in existence since April 2021, we assessed a general conspiratorial mindset at the first wave to see whether it would predict willingness to recommend giving a COVID-19 vaccine to a child ages 5-11 in January and March of 2022, several months after those vaccines were authorized for that age group.…”

Believing in conspiracy theories: The role of emotional granularity and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies

“…Individuals who endorse conspiracy theories often exhibit a cognitive style characterized by black‐and‐white thinking, which involves viewing the world in stark, polarized terms. This cognitive pattern tends to oversimplify complex issues, events, and interpersonal dynamics into clear‐cut categories of right versus wrong or good versus evil (Iannello et al, 2022). As a result, individuals prone to black‐and‐white thinking may struggle to appreciate the nuances and complexities inherent in emotional experiences.…”