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The relation between conspiracism, government trust, and COVID-19 vaccination intentions: The key role of motivation

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  • Van Oost, Pascaline
  • Yzerbyt, Vincent
  • Schmitz, Mathias
  • Vansteenkiste, Maarten
  • Luminet, Olivier
  • Morbée, Sofie
  • Van den Bergh, Omer
  • Waterschoot, Joachim
  • Klein, Olivier

Abstract

Vaccination willingness is a critical step in the effort to reach herd immunity and control the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, many people remain reluctant to be vaccinated.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Oost, Pascaline & Yzerbyt, Vincent & Schmitz, Mathias & Vansteenkiste, Maarten & Luminet, Olivier & Morbée, Sofie & Van den Bergh, Omer & Waterschoot, Joachim & Klein, Olivier, 2022. "The relation between conspiracism, government trust, and COVID-19 vaccination intentions: The key role of motivation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:301:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622002325
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114926
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Romer, Daniel & Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, 2020. "Conspiracy theories as barriers to controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    2. Joanne M. Miller & Kyle L. Saunders & Christina E. Farhart, 2016. "Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning: The Moderating Roles of Political Knowledge and Trust," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 60(4), pages 824-844, October.
    3. Milošević Đorđević, J. & Mari, S. & Vdović, M. & Milošević, A., 2021. "Links between conspiracy beliefs, vaccine knowledge, and trust: Anti-vaccine behavior of Serbian adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    4. Jamison, Amelia M. & Quinn, Sandra Crouse & Freimuth, Vicki S., 2019. "“You don't trust a government vaccine”: Narratives of institutional trust and influenza vaccination among African American and white adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 87-94.
    5. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
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    1. Wollast, Robin & Phillips, Joseph B. & Hagger, Martin S. & Hamilton, Kyra & DeSmet, Ann & Luminet, Olivier, 2025. "Theory of planned behavior constructs as mediators of relations between personality traits, trust, and COVID-19 preventive behavior adherence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 384(C).
    2. Obdulia Torres González & Libia Santos-Requejo, 2024. "The Impact of Knowledge and Trust on COVID-19 Vaccination Intention: Analysis of a Population Group with Low Incentives to Vaccinate in Spain," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, August.
    3. Lasarov, Wassili & Hoffmann, Stefan, 2026. "Invasive rapid innovation: An introduction and exploration of their acceptance," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
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    5. Jiang, Ying & Yin, Guikun & Shao, Qinglong, 2025. "Individualism and support for COVID-19 government interventions: The moderating role of perceived economic risk," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    6. Yuan, Yaqi & Yeo, Shun Yuan & Lee, Kristen Schultz, 2024. "Different roles of interpersonal trust and institutional trust in motivating older adults to receive COVID-19 vaccines in Singapore," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    7. Nefes, Türkay Salim & Präg, Patrick & Romero-Reche, Alejandro & Pereira-Puga, Manuel, 2023. "Believing in conspiracy theories in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic: Drivers and public health implications," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    8. Nillasithanukroh, Songkhun & Park, Chul Hyun & Richards, Robert & Ghaleb, Alyssa, 2025. "A panel data analysis of the impact of government trust on support for universal and air travel vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 384(C).
    9. Lu, Yunshu & Wang, Quanfang & Zhu, Shan & Xu, Sen & Kadirhaz, Muhtar & Zhang, Yushan & Zhao, Nan & Fang, Yu & Chang, Jie, 2023. "Lessons learned from COVID-19 vaccination implementation: How psychological antecedents of vaccinations mediate the relationship between vaccine literacy and vaccine hesitancy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    10. Griffith, Zoe M. & Polet, Juho & Lintunen, Taru & Hamilton, Kyra & Hagger, Martin S., 2024. "Social cognition, personality and social-political correlates of health behaviors: Application of an integrated theoretical model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    11. Mengjun Zhang & Bei Liu & Guochun Xiang & Xuqiang Yan & Yuting Ling & Chao Zuo, 2024. "Navigating the shift: understanding public trust in authorities amidst policy shifts in China’s COVID-19 response," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.

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