Testing the Mediating and Moderating Factors of the Link Between Religiosity and Vaccine Hesitancy: A Quantitative Study of Turkish Muslims

Öz

This study aims to examine the link between religiosity and vaccine hesitancy and whether this relationship is mediated by trust in science and scientists. The sample consisted of 571 Turkish Muslims. The participants' average age was 38.09 years (SD=11.3). The participants were asked to provide their demographic information and complete measures of vaccine hesitancy, religiosity, and trust in science and scientists. The findings indicate that (a) there is a significant positive correlation between religiosity and vaccine hesitancy, (b) trust in science and scientists has a mediating role in the relationship between religiosity and vaccine hesitancy, and (c) age has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between religiosity and vaccine hesitancy. The findings suggest that the role of religiosity in vaccine hesitancy functions through trust in science and scientists.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Vaccine hesitancy
• trust in science
• trust in scientists
• religiosity
• Turkish Muslims

Kaynakça

1. Abbas, Qamar - Mangrio, Fatima - Kumar, Sunil. “Myths, Beliefs, and Conspiracies about COVID-19 Vaccines in Sindh, Pakistan: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey”. Authorea. Accessed 03.07.2024 https://doi.org/10.22541/au.161519250.03425961/v1
2. Allington, Daniel - McAndrew, Siobhan - Moxham-Hall, Vivienne - Duffy, Bobby. “Coronavirus Conspiracy Suspicions, General Vaccine Attitudes, Trust and Coronavirus Information Source as Predictors of Vaccine Hesitancy among UK Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Psychological Medicine 53/1 (2023), 236-247. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291721001434
3. Andrade, Gabriel. “Vaccine Hesitancy and Religiosity in a Sample of University Students in Venezuela”. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 17/12 (2021), 5162–5167. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2021.1981737
4. Arshad, Muhammad Subhan - Hussain, Iltaf - Mahmood, Tahir et al. “A National Survey to Assess the COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Conspiracy Beliefs, Acceptability, Preference, and Willingness to Pay among the General Population of Pakistan.” Vaccines 9/7 (2021), 720. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9070720
5. Ayten, Ali. “Kimlik ve Din: İngiltere’deki Türk Gençleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma”. Çukurova Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi (ÇÜİFD) 12/2 (2012), 101–119.
6. Ayten, Ali - Hussain, Amjad M. Psychology and Islam. İstanbul: Marmara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Vakfı Yayınları, 2020.
7. Baron, R. M. - Kenny, D. A. “The Moderator–Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51/6 (1986), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
8. Bish, Alison - Yardley, Lucy - Nicoll, Angus - Michie, Susan. “Factors Associated with Uptake of Vaccination against Pandemic Influenza: A Systematic Review”. Vaccine 29/38 (2011), 6472–6484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.06.107

9. Bodner, Ehud - Shrira, Amit - Palgi, Yuval. “Attitudes to Aging Mediate the Reciprocal Effects of Health Anxiety and Physical Functioning”. Psychology & Health 38/2 (2023), 190-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2021.1956496
10. Bozkurt, Veysel - Bayram Arlı, Nuran - İlhan, Mustafa Necmi et al. “Factors Affecting Negative Attitudes towards COVID-19 Vaccines”. İnsan & Toplum 13/1 (2023), 53-72. https://doi.org/10.12658/M0674
11. Browne, M. W. - Cudeck, R. “Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit”. Sociological Methods & Research 21/2 (1992), 230–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124192021002005
12. Cadeddu, Chiara et al. “Vaccine Hesitancy and Trust in the Scientific Community in Italy: Comparative Analysis from Two Recent Surveys”. Vaccines 9 (2021), 1206.
13. Chan, Esther. “Are the Religious Suspicious of Science? Investigating Religiosity, Religious Context, and Orientations towards Science”. Public Understanding of Science 27/8 (2018), 967–984. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662518781231
14. Chu, James - Pink, Sophia L. - Willer, Robb. “Religious Identity Cues Increase Vaccination Intentions and Trust in Medical Experts among American Christians”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118/49 (2021), e2106481118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2106481118
15. Corcoran, Katie E. - Scheitle, Christopher P - DiGregorio, Bernard D. “Christian Nationalism and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Uptake”. Vaccine 39/45 (2021), 6614–6621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.09.074
16. Dubé, Eve - Laberge, Caroline - Guay, Maryse. “Vaccine Hesitancy: An Overview”. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 9/8 (2013), 1763–1773. https://doi.org/10.4161/hv.24657
17. El-Gabalawy, R. - Mackenzie, C. S. - Thibodeau, M. A. “Health Anxiety Disorders in Older Adults: Conceptualizing Complex Conditions in Late Life”. Clinical Psychology Review 33/8 (2013), 1096–1105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.08.010
18. Eriksson, Kimmo - Vartanova, Irina. “Vaccine Confidence Is Higher in More Religious Countries”. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 18/1 (2022), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2021.1883389
19. Esen, Seher - Alkış-Küçükaydın, Menşure. “Turkish Adaptation Study of the Trust in Science and Scientists Scale: Validity and Reliability Study”. Research on Education and Psychology 6/(Special Issue) (2022), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.54535/rep.1089295
20. Gopez, Jose Ma W. “Building Public Trust in COVID-19 Vaccines Through the Catholic Church in the Philippines”. Journal of Public Health 43/2 (2021), e330–e331. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab036
21. Hornsey, Matthew J. - Finlayson, Matthew - Chatwood, Gabrielle. “Donald Trump and Vaccination: The Effect of Political Identity, Conspiracist Ideation and Presidential Tweets on Vaccine Hesitancy”. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 88 (2020), 103947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103947
22. Hossain, Mohammad Bellal - Alam, Md. Zakiul - Islam, Md. Syful. “COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among the Adult Population in Bangladesh: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey”. PLOS ONE 16/12 (2021), e0260821. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260821
23. Kline, R. B. Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. New York: Guilford Press, 2011.
24. Ladini, Riccardo - Vezzoni, Cristiano. “When Believing in Divine Immanence Explains Vaccine Hesitancy: A Matter of Conspiracy Beliefs?”. Politics and Governance 10/4 (2022), 168–176. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v10i4.5766
25. Lindesay, James - Baillon, Sarah - Brugha, Traolach. “Worry Content across the Lifespan: An Analysis of 16- to 74-Year-Old Participants in the British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity 2000”. Psychological Medicine 36/11 (2006), 1625–1633. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291706008439
26. Marsh, H. W. - Hocevar, D. “Application of Confirmatory Factor Analysis to the Study of Self-Concept: First- and Higher Order Factor Models and Their Invariance across Groups”. Psychological Bulletin 97/3 (1985), 562–582.
27. McPhetres, Jonathon - Zuckerman, Miron. “Religiosity Predicts Negative Attitudes towards Science and Lower Levels of Science Literacy”. PLOS ONE 13/11 (2018), e0207125. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207125
28. Mesch, Gustavo S. - Schwirian, Kent P. “Social and Political Determinants of Vaccine Hesitancy: Lessons Learned from the H1N1 Pandemic of 2009-2010”. American Journal of Infection Control 43/11 (2015), 1161–1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2015.06.031
29. Milošević Đorđević, J. - Mari, S. - Vdović, M. et al. “Links Between Conspiracy Beliefs, Vaccine Knowledge, and Trust: Anti-Vaccine Behavior of Serbian Adults”. Social Science & Medicine 277 (2021), 113930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113930
30. Mohamed, Nareman Aly et al. “Moderating Effect of Psychological Antecedents and Conspiracy Mentality On COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in A Sample of Egyptians”. Egyptian Journal of Health Care 12/3 (2021), 1873-1886. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejhc.2021.260320
31. Mupandawana, Edith T. - Cross, Ruth. “Attitudes towards Human Papillomavirus Vaccination among African Parents in a City in the North of England: A Qualitative Study”. Reproductive Health 13/1 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-016-0209-x
32. Myers, Lynn B. - Goodwin, Robin. “Determinants of Adults’ Intention to Vaccinate against Pandemic Swine Flu”. BMC Public Health 11/1 (2011), 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-15
33. Nadelson, Louis - Jorcyk, Cheryl - Yang, Dazhi. “I Just Don’t Trust Them: The Development and Validation of an Assessment Instrument to Measure Trust in Science and Scientists”. School Science and Mathematics 114/2 (2014), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12051
34. O’Brien, Timothy L. - Noy, Shiri. “Cultural Authority in Comparative Context: A Multilevel Analysis of Trust in Science and Religion”. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 57/3 (2018), 495–513. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12537
35. Olagoke, Ayokunle A. - Olagoke, Olakanmi O. - Hughes, Ashley M. “Intention to Vaccinate Against the Novel 2019 Coronavirus Disease: The Role of Health Locus of Control and Religiosity”. Journal of Religion and Health 60/1 (2021), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01090-9
36. Plohl, Nejc - Musil, Bojan. “Modeling Compliance with COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines: The Critical Role of Trust in Science”. Psychology, Health & Medicine 26/1 (2021), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2020.1772988
37. Pugliese-Garcia, Miguel - Heyerdahl, Leonard W. - Mwamba, Chanda. “Factors Influencing Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy in Three Informal Settlements in Lusaka, Zambia”. Vaccine 36/37 (2018), 5617–5624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.07.042
38. Rainey, Jeanette J. - Watkins, Margaret - Ryman, Tove K. “Reasons Related to Non-Vaccination and under-Vaccination of Children in Low and Middle Income Countries: Findings from a Systematic Review of the Published Literature, 1999–2009”. Vaccine 29/46 (2011), 8215–8221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.08.096
39. Repalust, Anja - Šević, Sandra - Rihtar, Stanko. “Childhood Vaccine Refusal and Hesitancy Intentions in Croatia: Insights from a Population-Based Study”. Psychology, Health & Medicine 22/9 (2017), 1045–1055. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2016.1263756
40. Roberts, Hannah A. - Clark, D. Angus - Kalina, Claire. “To Vax or Not to Vax: Predictors of Anti-Vax Attitudes and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Prior to Widespread Vaccine Availability.” PLOS ONE 17/2 (2022), e0264019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264019
41. Rönnerstrand, Björn. “Social Capital and Immunisation against the 2009 A(H1N1) Pandemic in Sweden”. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 41/8 (2013), 853–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494813494975
42. Rozek, Laura S. - Jones, Pauline - Menon, Anil et al. “Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy in the Context of COVID-19: The Role of Trust and Confidence in a Seventeen-Country Survey”. International Journal of Public Health 66 (2021), 636255. https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2021.636255
43. Schermelleh-Engel, Karin - Moosbrugger, Helfried - Müller, Hans. “Evaluating the Fit of Structural Equation Models: Tests of Significance and Descriptive Goodness-of-Fit Measures”. Methods of Psychological Research 8/2 (2003), 23–74. https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12784
44. Scheufele, Dietram A. - Corley, Elizabeth A. - Shih, Tsung-jen et al. “Religious Beliefs and Public Attitudes toward Nanotechnology in Europe and the United States”. Nature Nanotechnology 4/2 (2009), 91–94. https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.361
45. Seddig, Daniel - Maskileyson, Dina - Davidov, Eldad et al. “Correlates of COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions: Attitudes, Institutional Trust, Fear, Conspiracy Beliefs, and Vaccine Skepticism”. Social Science & Medicine 302 (2022), 114981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114981
46. Siani, Alessandro - Driscoll, Megan - Hurst, Tia-Mai et al. “Investigating the Determinants of Vaccine Hesitancy within Undergraduate Students’ Social Sphere”. Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice 30/12 (2022), 2791-2799. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01538-6
47. Skeens, Micah - Guttoo, Parishma - Stanek, Joseph R. et al. “An Exploration of COVID-19 Impact and Vaccine Hesitancy in Parents of Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HCT) Recipients”. Bone Marrow Transplantation 57/4 (2022), 547–553. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-022-01587-9
48. Sturgis, Patrick - Brunton-Smith, Ian - Jackson, Jonathan. “Trust in Science, Social Consensus and Vaccine Confidence”. Nature Human Behaviour 5/11 (2021), 1528–1534. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01115-7
49. Thomas, Tami - Blumling, Amy - Delaney, Augustina et al. “The Influence of Religiosity and Spirituality on Rural Parents’ Health Decision Making and Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Choices”. Advances in Nursing Science 38/4 (2015), E1–E12. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANS.0000000000000094
50. Troiano, G. - Nardi, A. “Vaccine Hesitancy in the Era of COVID-19”. Public Health 194 (2021), 245–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.02.025
51. Truong, Judy - Bakshi, Simran - Wasim, Aghna et al. “What Factors Promote Vaccine Hesitancy or Acceptance During Pandemics? A Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis”. Health Promotion International 37/1 (2022), daab105. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daab105
52. Whitehead, Andrew L. - Perry, Samuel L. “How Culture Wars Delay Herd Immunity: Christian Nationalism and Anti-Vaccine Attitudes”. Socius 6 (2020), 1-12.
53. Wojtasik, Waldemar - Muster, Rafał - Buszman, Krystyna Anna. “Religiousity and New Populism”. European Journal of Science and Theology 17/5 (2021), 93–106.
54. UNICEF. “COVID-19 Confirmed Cases and Deaths.” 2022. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://data.unicef.org/resources/covid-19-confirmed-cases-and-deaths-dashboard/