Personality traits and fear of covid-19 predicting vaccine hesitancy among selected university students in Abeokuta, Nigeria

Abstract

This cross-sectional survey examined the predictive influence of personality traits and fear of COVID-19 on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among undergraduate students in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Methods: Three hundred and ninety-two participants (267 females and 122 males, mean age ± SD = 20.33 ± 2.55 years) completed a two-section questionnaire collecting data regarding demographic information, personality factors, fear of COVID-19, and vaccine hesitancy. Data were analysed using SPSS v.25. Results: The results showed significant joint and independent prediction of personality traits on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (R2 = .27; F= (5,386) = 28.957, p<.05). There was a significant difference in the vaccine hesitancy reported by participants who scored high and those low on fear of COVID-19 (t (390) = 2.53, p= <.05). There was a significant difference between male participants compared to the female participants on vaccine hesitancy (t (387) = -2.058, p= <.05). The results on the difference between students in the different schools on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy showed no significant difference between private university students and public university students (t (390) = -.137, p= >.05). There was a significant difference between Christian participants and the Muslim participants on vaccine hesitancy (t (389) = -3.195, p= <.05). Conclusion: Personality traits are vital influences associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among undergraduate students in Ogun State. The study recommends that other studies incorporate more participants from various universities in Nigeria to cut across cultures. This will make for credibility in the generalization of the findings to the general population.