Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut.
J Pediatr Psychol. 2021 Jun 3;46(5):526-535. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsab043.
Research on COVID-19 vaccine beliefs has focused primarily on adults' intentions to vaccinate themselves; however, many parents will also face decisions about vaccinating their children. In this study, we examine how maternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma history relate to mothers' beliefs and intentions about the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and their children.
A total of 240 mothers with a mental health history participating in a parenting study answered online survey questions via Prolific. Questions assessed: (a) trauma indictors (past diagnosis, current symptoms, and lifetime exposure to events); (b) vaccine measures (intentions for self and child, COVID-19 vaccine confidence, general vaccine perceived safety, reasoning about vaccine intentions, sources of influence on intentions); and (c) possible explanatory variables (institutional distrust, negative worldviews). ANCOVAs and regression analyses were used.
When compared with mothers with other mental health diagnoses, mothers with a PTSD history had significantly less confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine and less intent to get the vaccine for themselves or their child. These effects were explained by greater institutional distrust (i.e., significant indirect effects). Mothers with a previous PTSD diagnosis also expressed different reasons for vaccine hesitancy (e.g., less belief in science) and ascribed less influence to healthcare and governmental sources in vaccine decision-making.
Findings highlight the potential utility of a trauma-informed approach in efforts to reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. For mothers with a history of PTSD, addressing institutional distrust, including towards the healthcare industry, may be an important element to consider in the content, delivery, and mode of vaccine messaging.
关于 COVID-19 疫苗信念的研究主要集中在成年人自己接种疫苗的意愿上；然而，许多父母也将面临为子女接种疫苗的决定。在这项研究中，我们研究了产妇创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和创伤史如何与母亲对自己和子女 COVID-19 疫苗的信念和意愿相关。
共有 240 名有心理健康史的母亲参加了一项育儿研究，通过 Prolific 在线回答调查问题。问题评估了：（a）创伤指标（过去的诊断、当前的症状和一生中经历的事件）；（b）疫苗措施（自我和孩子的意愿、COVID-19 疫苗信心、一般疫苗感知安全性、对疫苗意愿的推理、对意愿的影响来源）；和（c）可能的解释变量（机构不信任、消极世界观）。使用协方差分析和回归分析。
与有其他心理健康诊断的母亲相比，有 PTSD 病史的母亲对 COVID-19 疫苗的信心明显较低，为自己或孩子接种疫苗的意愿也较低。这些影响是由更大的机构不信任（即，显著的间接影响）解释的。以前被诊断出患有 PTSD 的母亲也表达了不同的疫苗犹豫原因（例如，对科学的信任度较低），并且在疫苗决策中对医疗保健和政府来源的影响力较小。
研究结果强调了创伤知情方法在减少 COVID-19 疫苗犹豫方面的潜在效用。对于有 PTSD 病史的母亲，解决机构不信任问题，包括对医疗保健行业的不信任，可能是疫苗信息内容、传递和模式中需要考虑的一个重要因素。
