The following is a summary of “Delusion-proneness predicts COVID-19 vaccination behavior,” published in the November 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Acar et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the link between delusion-proneness and COVID-19 vaccination behavior.
They examined the association between delusion-proneness, measured by the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI), and COVID-19 vaccination in 273 subjects. They also assessed whether delusion-proneness predicted the time to vaccination after the vaccine became available.
The results showed that unvaccinated subjects were more delusion-prone than vaccinated ones (W=2225.5, P<0.001, effect-size=0.27). Among vaccinated subjects, higher delusion-proneness correlated with a longer time to get vaccinated (rs=0.27, P<0.001). These effects remained after adjusting for anxiety, ADHD, ASD traits, psychiatric diagnoses, and sex. Path analyses indicated that delusion-proneness influenced vaccination rate through COVID-19 conspiracy ideation. An exploratory analysis revealed that unvaccinated individuals were concerned about safety and side effects, while vaccinated individuals cited protecting themselves and others as their primary motivation.
Investigators concluded that delusion-proneness played a significant role in the development of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and was associated with lower vaccination rates and delayed vaccination.
Source: frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1450429/full
