Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2023

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Major

Psychology

First Advisor

Dina Anselmi

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted numerous aspects of daily life. The CDC states that one of the best ways to combat the virus to end the pandemic is high vaccination rates. However, despite this knowledge numerous US citizens remain vaccine hesitant resulting in lower vaccination rates across the country. Two possible variables that may explain the gap in vaccination rates is the adherence to traditional gender norms and vaccine conspiracy beliefs. To measure the effects of both these variables on vaccination rates two survey scales were used: The Male Role Norm - Revised Scale, (Brannon & Junni, 1984) and the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (Shapiro et al., 2016). The results did not show a significant relationship between males’ levels of masculinity and their likelihood of being vaccinated. However, the results did show that women with lower scores of masculinity had increased voluntary vaccination rates. Further, the results demonstrated that both older individuals (50-60 years old) with higher levels of masculinity as well as those with high vaccine conspiracy beliefs had significantly lower odds of being vaccinated. Future research should investigate masculinity levels using more modern scales of masculinity and see if they are better predictors of vaccination status. Moreover, it is important to investigate effective methods to deter the spread of vaccine conspiracy theories, as well as identify ways to decrease a person's belief in the validity of vaccine conspiracy theories.

Comments

Senior thesis completed at Trinity College, Hartford CT for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS