Graduation Date
Spring 2023
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, option Academic Research
Committee Chair Name
Amber Gaffney
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Amanda Hahn
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Kelly Jantzen
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Subject Categories
Psychology
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the lives of millions of people, particularly parents. Drawing on uncertainty-identity theory and research on intensive parenting attitudes, two studies sought to understand the effects of self-uncertainty, parenting beliefs, and perceived illness and vaccine side effect severity, on parental intentions to vaccinate children against COVID-19. We hypothesized that parents with intensive parenting attitudes would rely on their parenting identity to reduce uncertainty and make decisions about vaccinating their children. The results revealed that parents who perceived illness severity in unvaccinated children as high were more likely to vaccinate their children, while those who perceived vaccine side effect severity as high were less likely to intend to vaccinate their children. We found that the relationship between self-uncertainty and vaccination intentions was moderated by intensive parenting attitudes. Among parents with strong intensive parenting beliefs, uncertainty was positively associated with vaccination intentions, but this was not the case for parents with weaker intensive parenting attitudes. However, intensive parenting ideology did not moderate perceptions of vaccine side effects. These findings suggest that parents with intensive parenting beliefs may be more inclined to vaccinate their children because of the clear social identity outlined by the rigid norms associated with this parenting style, which prioritize the protection of children through vaccination.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Royer, Zoë, "Uncertainty, parenting attitudes, risk perceptions, and covid-19 vaccination intentions" (2023). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 642.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/642