Predictors of willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine after emergency use authorization: The role of coping appraisal

Abstract

The current study aims to identify psychosocial factors based on protection motivation theory (PMT) influencing Chinese adults’ willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine after the emergency use authorization of the New Coronavirus Inactivated Vaccine in China. A cross-sec-tional online survey was conducted among Chinese residents aged 18–59 years, and 2528 respond-ents from 31 provinces and autonomous regions were included in the current study. Based on PMT, threat appraisals and coping appraisals were measured. Hierarchical multiple regressions and mul-tivariate logistic regressions were used to identify the relationships between the PMT constructs and vaccination willingness after other covariates were controlled for. A total of 1411 (55.8%) re-spondents reported being willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The PMT model explained 26.6% (p < 0.001) of the variance in the vaccine willingness. The coping appraisals, including response efficacy, self-efficacy, and response costs, were significantly correlated with the willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and response efficacy was the strongest influencing factor (ad-justed OR = 2.93, 95% CI: 2.42–3.54). In conclusion, the coping appraisals for vaccination, instead of threat appraisals regarding the pandemic itself, mainly influenced people’s willingness to get vaccinated after the emergency use authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine in China. These findings are helpful for developing education and interventions to promote vaccination willingness and enhance public health outcomes during a pandemic.