Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK.
Ann Behav Med. 2019 Jan 1;53(1):109-114. doi: 10.1093/abm/kay043.
Vaccinations are important preventative health behaviors. The recently developed Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) Scale aims to measure the reasons behind refusal/hesitancy regarding vaccinations.
The aim of this replication study is to conduct an independent test of the newly developed VAX Scale in the UK. We tested (a) internal consistency (Cronbach's α); (b) convergent validity by assessing its relationships with beliefs about medication, medical mistrust, and perceived sensitivity to medicines; and (c) construct validity by testing how well the VAX Scale discriminated between vaccinators and nonvaccinators.
A sample of 243 UK adults completed the VAX Scale, the Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire, the Perceived Sensitivity to Medicines Scale, and the Medical Mistrust Index, in addition to demographics of age, gender, education levels, and social deprivation. Participants were asked (a) whether they received an influenza vaccination in the past year and (b) if they had a young child, whether they had vaccinated the young child against influenza in the past year.
The VAX (a) demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .92); (b) was positively correlated with medical mistrust and beliefs about medicines, and less strongly correlated with perceived sensitivity to medicines; and (c) successfully differentiated parental influenza vaccinators from nonvaccinators.
The VAX demonstrated good internal consistency, convergent validity, and construct validity in an independent UK sample. It appears to be a useful measure to help us understand the health beliefs that promote or deter vaccination behavior.
疫苗接种是重要的预防保健行为。最近开发的疫苗接种态度评估（VAX）量表旨在衡量对疫苗接种的拒绝/犹豫背后的原因。
本复制研究的目的是在英国对新开发的 VAX 量表进行独立测试。我们测试了：（a）内部一致性（Cronbach's α）；（b）通过评估其与对药物的信念、对医疗的不信任感和对药物敏感性的感知之间的关系来评估其聚合效度；（c）通过测试 VAX 量表在区分接种者和非接种者方面的表现来评估其结构效度。
一项由 243 名英国成年人组成的样本完成了 VAX 量表、药物信念问卷、药物敏感性感知量表和医疗不信任指数，以及年龄、性别、教育水平和社会贫困程度等人口统计学信息。参与者被问到：（a）他们是否在过去一年中接种了流感疫苗；（b）如果他们有一个年幼的孩子，他们是否在过去一年中为孩子接种了流感疫苗。
VAX 量表（a）显示出很高的内部一致性（α=0.92）；（b）与对医疗的不信任感和对药物的信念呈正相关，与对药物敏感性的感知相关性较弱；（c）成功地区分了父母双方中流感疫苗接种者和非接种者。
VAX 在独立的英国样本中表现出良好的内部一致性、聚合效度和结构效度。它似乎是一种有用的测量工具，可以帮助我们理解促进或阻碍疫苗接种行为的健康信念。
