J Korean Med Sci.  2023 Jul;38(30):e234. 10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e234.

Psychological and Personality Characteristics Associated With COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior in Korean General Population

• Ryu S
• Kim JW
• Lee JY
• Kang YS
• Shin HY
• Jung SI
• Kim JM
• Kim SW

• KMID: 2544952
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e234

Abstract

Background
This study characterized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination behavior in the Korean general population using cluster analysis and explored related psychological factors.
Methods
We categorized 1,500 individuals based on their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination using hierarchical clustering and identified their level of vaccine acceptance. We examined the associations between vaccine acceptance and behavioral and psychological characteristics.
Results
Clustering revealed three groups according to vaccine acceptance: ‘totally accepting’ (n = 354, 23.6%), ‘somewhat accepting’ (n = 523, 34.9%), and ‘reluctant’ (n = 623, 41.5%). Approximately 60% of all participants who belonged to the ‘totally accepting’ and ‘somewhat accepting’ groups were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine despite concerns about its side effects. High vaccine acceptance was associated with older age, regular influenza vaccination, and trust in formal sources of information. Participants with high vaccine acceptance had higher levels of gratitude, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and lower levels of depression, anxiety, and neuroticism.
Conclusions
People weighed the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination against the risk of side effects when deciding to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Our findings also indicate that this vaccination behavior may be affected by coping mechanisms and psychological factors.

Keyword

COVID-19; Vaccination Behavior; Gratitude; Personality; Cluster Analysis

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Heatmap and dendrogram of the hierarchical clustering analysis results; clusters 1–3 were distinguished based on the responses to seven questions about attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination.COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019.

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