Is Epistemic Trust relevant for Vaccine Hesitancy? A study during the Covid-19 pandemic

Titolo Rivista PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Autori/Curatori Alice Fiorini Bincoletto, Filippo Maria Nimbi, Ginevra Protopapa, Vittorio Lingiardi, Guido Giovanardi
Anno di pubblicazione 2024 Fascicolo 2024/1
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 21 P. 46-66 Dimensione file 345 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2024-001003
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Vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy beliefs are social issues of growing concern which have arisen particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the multifaceted relationship between a hesitant attitude towards vaccination, conspiracy thinking, fear of infection, and the dimensions of epistemic trust, mistrust, and credulity. 297 Italian adult participants completed an online survey during the pan-demic time frame which included self-report questionnaires that measured the variables of interest. Group differences pertaining to prior vaccination behavior in scores of con-spiracy beliefs about vaccines and vaccine hesitancy were explored. A negative associa-tion was found between years of education and both vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy beliefs about vaccines, and a positive one with epistemic trust; higher education may protect the individual from misinformation and help in discerning between real knowledge and fake or imprecise news. A mediation model was developed between ep-istemic stance, vaccine conspiracy belief, vaccine hesitancy, and COVID-19-specific variables: the affective dimension (fear of contagion) and the behavioral one (number of vaccine doses). The model demonstrates how certain structural characteristics, such as epistemic credulity and skepticism towards vaccine benefits, may indirectly affect the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses taken through fear of contracting the virus. The re-sults support the value of exploring vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy beliefs in relation to epistemic trust dimensions, specifically in the post-pandemic era, and are discussed in light of the recent literature.

L’esitanza vaccinale e le credenze complottiste rappresentano problematiche sociali di crescente rilevanza, emerse in modo particolare durante la pandemia da COVID-19. Lo scopo di questo studio è stato investigare la complessa relazione tra atteggiamenti esi-tanti nei confronti della vaccinazione, le credenze complottiste, la paura del contagio e le dimensioni della fiducia, sfiducia e credulità epistemica. 297 partecipanti italiani adulti hanno completato un sondaggio online durante la pandemia, il quale includeva questio-nari per misurare le variabili di interesse. Sono state valutate differenze tra gruppi relative a comportamenti vaccinali passati in merito ai punteggi relativi alle credenze complottiste e all’esitanza vaccinale. È emersa un’associazione negativa tra il livello d’istruzione e sia l’incertezza vaccinale che le credenze complottiste sui vaccini, e una relazione positiva con la fiducia epistemica; un livello di istruzione più elevato può proteggere dalla disin-formazione facilitare la distinzione tra conoscenza autentica e notizie false o imprecise. È stato elaborato un modello di mediazione tra l’atteggiamento epistemico, le credenze complottiste sui vaccini, l’esitanza vaccinale e variabili legate al COVID-19: la dimen-sione affettiva (paura del contagio) e quella comportamentale (numero di dosi di vacci-no). Tale modello dimostra come alcune caratteristiche strutturali, come la credulità epi-stemica e lo scetticismo verso i benefici del vaccino, possano influenzare indirettamente il numero di dosi di vaccino COVID-19 assunte, attraverso la paura di contrarre il virus. I risultati, discussi alla luce della letteratura recente, sostengono l’importanza della ricerca sull’esitanza vaccinale e delle credenze complottiste in relazione alle dimensioni della fiducia epistemica, in particolare nell’era post-pandemica.

Keywords:esitanza vaccinale, credenze complottiste, covid-19, fiducia epistemica, sfiducia epistemica, credulità epistemica

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Alice Fiorini Bincoletto, Filippo Maria Nimbi, Ginevra Protopapa, Vittorio Lingiardi, Guido Giovanardi, Is Epistemic Trust relevant for Vaccine Hesitancy? A study during the Covid-19 pandemic in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 1/2024, pp 46-66, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2024-001003