Psychological Characteristics Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Resistance in Ireland and the United Kingdom

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2021 Jan 5

PMID 33397962

Citations 610

Authors

Jamie Murphy

Frederique Vallieres

Richard P Bentall

Mark Shevlin

Orla McBride

Todd K Hartman

Ryan McKay

Kate Bennett

Liam Mason

Jilly Gibson-Miller

Liat Levita

Anton P Martinez

Thomas V A Stocks

Thanos Karatzias

Philip Hyland

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Identifying and understanding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy within distinct populations may aid future public health messaging. Using nationally representative data from the general adult populations of Ireland (N = 1041) and the United Kingdom (UK; N = 2025), we found that vaccine hesitancy/resistance was evident for 35% and 31% of these populations respectively. Vaccine hesitant/resistant respondents in Ireland and the UK differed on a number of sociodemographic and health-related variables but were similar across a broad array of psychological constructs. In both populations, those resistant to a COVID-19 vaccine were less likely to obtain information about the pandemic from traditional and authoritative sources and had similar levels of mistrust in these sources compared to vaccine accepting respondents. Given the geographical proximity and socio-economic similarity of the populations studied, it is not possible to generalize findings to other populations, however, the methodology employed here may be useful to those wishing to understand COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy elsewhere.

Citing Articles

Suspicion and other feelings about COVID-19 vaccines and mask-wearing among individuals recovering from substance addiction.

Hassett-Walker C Public Health Pract (Oxf). 2025; 9:100599.

PMID: 40040672 PMC: 11879660. DOI: 10.1016/j.puhip.2025.100599.

Role of Individual, Social and Health Factors as Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Results from the Second Phase of the Italian EPICOVID19 Web-Based Survey.

Adorni F, Cavigli C, Jesuthasan N, Cori L, Sojic A, Bianchi F Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025; 22(2).

PMID: 40003539 PMC: 11855322. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph22020314.

Between intention and action: the paradoxes of female vaccination.

Santos-Requejo L, Torres-Gonzalez O Arch Public Health. 2025; 83(1):53.

PMID: 40001196 PMC: 11853196. DOI: 10.1186/s13690-025-01542-2.

Trust in official information as a key predictor of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: evidence from a Czech longitudinal survey study.

Grygarova D, Kozeny J, Tisanska L, Havlik M, Horacek J BMC Public Health. 2025; 25(1):770.

PMID: 40001023 PMC: 11853922. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-21988-x.

Technological and Socio-Demographic Factors Influencing Telemedicine Literacy in Trinidad and Tobago: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Multidimensional Approach.

Ezinne N, Koomson I, Anyasodor A, Antwi-Adjei E, Bhattarai D, Armitage J Health Sci Rep. 2025; 8(2):e70420.

PMID: 39980826 PMC: 11840707. DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.70420.

References

Sirota M, Juanchich M . Effect of response format on cognitive reflection: Validating a two- and four-option multiple choice question version of the Cognitive Reflection Test. Behav Res Methods. 2018; 50(6):2511-2522. DOI: 10.3758/s13428-018-1029-4. View

Bergeson S, Gray J, Ehrmantraut L, Laibson T, Hays R . Comparing Web-based with Mail Survey Administration of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Clinician and Group Survey. Prim Health Care. 2013; 3. PMC: 3783026. DOI: 10.4172/2167-1079.1000132. View

. Reasons reported by Medicare beneficiaries for not receiving influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations--United States, 1996. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1999; 48(39):886-90. View

Timmermans D, Henneman L, Hirasing R, van der Wal G . Attitudes and risk perception of parents of different ethnic backgrounds regarding meningococcal C vaccination. Vaccine. 2005; 23(25):3329-35. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2005.01.075. View

McIntyre J, Wickham S, Barr B, Bentall R . Social Identity and Psychosis: Associations and Psychological Mechanisms. Schizophr Bull. 2017; 44(3):681-690. PMC: 5890464. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbx110. View

Hays R, Liu H, Kapteyn A . Use of Internet panels to conduct surveys. Behav Res Methods. 2015; 47(3):685-90. PMC: 4546874. DOI: 10.3758/s13428-015-0617-9. View

Jamison A, Quinn S, Freimuth V . "You don't trust a government vaccine": Narratives of institutional trust and influenza vaccination among African American and white adults. Soc Sci Med. 2018; 221:87-94. PMC: 6350921. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.12.020. View

Gall S, Poland G . A maternal immunization program (MIP): developing a schedule and platform for routine immunization during pregnancy. Vaccine. 2011; 29(51):9411-3. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.11.009. View

Suryadevara M, Bonville C, Rosenbaum P, Domachowske J . Influenza vaccine hesitancy in a low-income community in central New York State. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2014; 10(7):2098-103. PMC: 4186041. DOI: 10.4161/hv.28803. View

10.

Larson H, Jarrett C, Eckersberger E, Smith D, Paterson P . Understanding vaccine hesitancy around vaccines and vaccination from a global perspective: a systematic review of published literature, 2007-2012. Vaccine. 2014; 32(19):2150-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.01.081. View

11.

Hornsey M, Fielding K . Attitude roots and Jiu Jitsu persuasion: Understanding and overcoming the motivated rejection of science. Am Psychol. 2017; 72(5):459-473. DOI: 10.1037/a0040437. View

12.

Nichol K, Mac Donald R, Hauge M . Factors associated with influenza and pneumococcal vaccination behavior among high-risk adults. J Gen Intern Med. 1996; 11(11):673-7. DOI: 10.1007/BF02600158. View

13.

Swaney S, Burns S . Exploring reasons for vaccine-hesitancy among higher-SES parents in Perth, Western Australia. Health Promot J Austr. 2018; 30(2):143-152. DOI: 10.1002/hpja.190. View

14.

Schmid P, Rauber D, Betsch C, Lidolt G, Denker M . Barriers of Influenza Vaccination Intention and Behavior - A Systematic Review of Influenza Vaccine Hesitancy, 2005 - 2016. PLoS One. 2017; 12(1):e0170550. PMC: 5268454. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170550. View

15.

Gene J, Espinola A, Cabezas C, Boix C, Comin E, Martin A . Do knowledge and attitudes about influenza and its immunization affect the likelihood of obtaining immunization?. Fam Pract Res J. 1992; 12(1):61-73. View

16.

Smith P, Chu S, Barker L . Children who have received no vaccines: who are they and where do they live?. Pediatrics. 2004; 114(1):187-95. DOI: 10.1542/peds.114.1.187. View

17.

Patty N, van Dijk H, Wallenburg I, Bal R, Helmerhorst T, van Exel J . To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Perspectives on HPV vaccination among girls, boys, and parents in the Netherlands: a Q-methodological study. BMC Public Health. 2017; 17(1):872. PMC: 5678575. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4879-2. View

18.

Murakami H, Kobayashi M, Hachiya M, Khan Z, Hassan S, Sakurada S . Refusal of oral polio vaccine in northwestern Pakistan: a qualitative and quantitative study. Vaccine. 2014; 32(12):1382-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.01.018. View

19.

Anderson R, Heesterbeek H, Klinkenberg D, Hollingsworth T . How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic?. Lancet. 2020; 395(10228):931-934. PMC: 7158572. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30567-5. View

20.

Kennedy J . Populist politics and vaccine hesitancy in Western Europe: an analysis of national-level data. Eur J Public Health. 2019; 29(3):512-516. DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckz004. View