Psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals: An exploratory data analysis
Background: The emotional dimension of vaccine acceptance is a critical factor in understanding healthcare workers’ behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to assess the relationship between emotional states—particularly anxiety-related feelings—and COVID-19 vaccination status among I...
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Edizioni FS Publisher
2025-06-01
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| Series: | GIornale Italiano di Psicologia e Medicina del Lavoro |
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| Online Access: | https://gipmel.it/wp-content/uploads/10.690882025PSYC6.pdf |
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| author | Aldo SITIBONDO Aanuoluwapo AFOLABI Jamel HAJJI Abdulmohsen Mohammed Abdullah ALKHULAYFI Izaddin Ahmad AZIZ Zane Asher GREEN Francesca BRUNO Martina BARBERA Murat YLDIRIM |
| author_facet | Aldo SITIBONDO Aanuoluwapo AFOLABI Jamel HAJJI Abdulmohsen Mohammed Abdullah ALKHULAYFI Izaddin Ahmad AZIZ Zane Asher GREEN Francesca BRUNO Martina BARBERA Murat YLDIRIM |
| author_sort | Aldo SITIBONDO |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The emotional dimension of vaccine acceptance is a critical factor in understanding healthcare workers’ behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to assess the relationship between emotional states—particularly anxiety-related feelings—and COVID-19 vaccination status among Italian medical professionals.
Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from 160 healthcare workers who completed a structured questionnaire. The survey included demographic information, self-reported COVID-19 vaccination status (categorized as “Full vaccination,” “Second dose only,” “First dose only,” or “Not vaccinated”), and scores from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). For statistical purposes, vaccination status was numerically coded (1 = fully vaccinated; 0.5 = first dose only; 0 = not vaccinated) and dichotomized into “Vaccinated” (full vaccination) versus “Unvaccinated” (partial or no vaccination). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to analyze the data. Group comparisons of emotional responses were visualized using bar plots.
Results: Most participants were fully vaccinated. Vaccination status was positively correlated with positive emotional states such as calmness, safety, satisfaction, and relaxation. Conversely, it was negatively associated with anxiety-related emotions, including tension, nervousness, fear, and worry.
Group comparisons showed that fully vaccinated individuals reported greater emotional well-being, while unvaccinated participants experienced higher levels of distress and psychological discomfort. Although some differences were moderate in size, the overall trend indicated a link between
vaccination and lower levels of COVID-19-related anxiety.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that emotional well-being and anxiety levels are associated with COVID-19 vaccination status. Individuals with lower anxiety and greater emotional stability were more likely to be vaccinated. This may reflect either a psychological predisposition favoring vaccine uptake or a beneficial psychological effect of vaccination itself. Further longitudinal or experimental studies are needed to determine the direction of causality. Addressing emotional and psychological factors could enhance public health efforts to reduce vaccine hesitancy among healthcare professionals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-57015c28a67841ca8c53550fbde55ca7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2785-1338 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Edizioni FS Publisher |
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| series | GIornale Italiano di Psicologia e Medicina del Lavoro |
| spelling | doaj-art-57015c28a67841ca8c53550fbde55ca72025-08-20T02:44:19ZengEdizioni FS PublisherGIornale Italiano di Psicologia e Medicina del Lavoro2785-13382025-06-015217819510.69088/2025/PSYC6Psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals: An exploratory data analysisAldo SITIBONDO0Aanuoluwapo AFOLABI1Jamel HAJJI2Abdulmohsen Mohammed Abdullah ALKHULAYFI3Izaddin Ahmad AZIZ4Zane Asher GREEN5Francesca BRUNO6Martina BARBERA7Murat YLDIRIM8nfectious Diseases Unit, University Hospital “G.Martino”, 98124 Messina, Italy. E-mail: aldo.sitibondo@gmail.comPlus-Circle Community Health Advancement Organization, Nigeria. E-mail: afoannade@gmail.comHigh Institute of Sports and Physical Education of Gafsa, University of Gafsa, Tunisia. E-mail: jamel5hajji@gmail.comDepartment of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Administration, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: aalkhlife@kau.edu.saPsychological and Educational Counselling Department, College of Education, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Iraq. English Department, College of Education, Bayan University, Iraq. E-mail: izaddin.aziz@su.edu.krdFaculty of Business Administration, Preston University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Psychology Research Center, Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan. E-mail: zanearts@gmail.comDepartment of Cognitive Sciences, Pedagogical Psychological and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. E-mail: francesca.bruno3@studenti.unime.itDepartment of Cognitive Sciences, Pedagogical Psychological and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. E-mail: martinabarbera17@gmail.comDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Letters, Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Ağrı, Turkey. Psychology Research Centre, Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan. E-mail: muratyildirim@agri.edu.trBackground: The emotional dimension of vaccine acceptance is a critical factor in understanding healthcare workers’ behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to assess the relationship between emotional states—particularly anxiety-related feelings—and COVID-19 vaccination status among Italian medical professionals. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from 160 healthcare workers who completed a structured questionnaire. The survey included demographic information, self-reported COVID-19 vaccination status (categorized as “Full vaccination,” “Second dose only,” “First dose only,” or “Not vaccinated”), and scores from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). For statistical purposes, vaccination status was numerically coded (1 = fully vaccinated; 0.5 = first dose only; 0 = not vaccinated) and dichotomized into “Vaccinated” (full vaccination) versus “Unvaccinated” (partial or no vaccination). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to analyze the data. Group comparisons of emotional responses were visualized using bar plots. Results: Most participants were fully vaccinated. Vaccination status was positively correlated with positive emotional states such as calmness, safety, satisfaction, and relaxation. Conversely, it was negatively associated with anxiety-related emotions, including tension, nervousness, fear, and worry. Group comparisons showed that fully vaccinated individuals reported greater emotional well-being, while unvaccinated participants experienced higher levels of distress and psychological discomfort. Although some differences were moderate in size, the overall trend indicated a link between vaccination and lower levels of COVID-19-related anxiety. Conclusions: The findings suggest that emotional well-being and anxiety levels are associated with COVID-19 vaccination status. Individuals with lower anxiety and greater emotional stability were more likely to be vaccinated. This may reflect either a psychological predisposition favoring vaccine uptake or a beneficial psychological effect of vaccination itself. Further longitudinal or experimental studies are needed to determine the direction of causality. Addressing emotional and psychological factors could enhance public health efforts to reduce vaccine hesitancy among healthcare professionals.https://gipmel.it/wp-content/uploads/10.690882025PSYC6.pdfcovid-19vaccine hesitancymedical professionalsanxietyemotional well-beingpsychological impactvaccination statushealthcare workersmental healthpandemic |
| spellingShingle | Aldo SITIBONDO Aanuoluwapo AFOLABI Jamel HAJJI Abdulmohsen Mohammed Abdullah ALKHULAYFI Izaddin Ahmad AZIZ Zane Asher GREEN Francesca BRUNO Martina BARBERA Murat YLDIRIM Psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals: An exploratory data analysis GIornale Italiano di Psicologia e Medicina del Lavoro covid-19 vaccine hesitancy medical professionals anxiety emotional well-being psychological impact vaccination status healthcare workers mental health pandemic |
| title | Psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals: An exploratory data analysis |
| title_full | Psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals: An exploratory data analysis |
| title_fullStr | Psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals: An exploratory data analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals: An exploratory data analysis |
| title_short | Psychological correlates of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals: An exploratory data analysis |
| title_sort | psychological correlates of covid 19 vaccine attitudes among medical professionals an exploratory data analysis |
| topic | covid-19 vaccine hesitancy medical professionals anxiety emotional well-being psychological impact vaccination status healthcare workers mental health pandemic |
| url | https://gipmel.it/wp-content/uploads/10.690882025PSYC6.pdf |
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