I Will Get Myself Vaccinated for Others: The Interplay of Message Frame, Reference Point, and Perceived Risk on Intention for COVID-19 Vaccine

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to seek an effective strategy to promote COVID-19 vaccination among young adults. Given that COVID-19 is less deadly for young adults, this study explores whether highlighting potential benefits or disadvantages that others may experience as a result of one’s vaccination increases young adults’ intention to get vaccinated, particularly for those who have low perceived risk of COVID-19. To test this idea, we conducted an experiment and analyzed the effect of interaction between message frame (gain vs. loss) and reference point (self vs. others) on intention for vaccination by one’s perceived risk (low vs. high). The results show that for those with low perceived risk of COVID-19, messages about potential negative consequences to others (e.g., family, friends, community members) from one’s failure to get vaccinated led to message elaboration and favorable attitude toward vaccination, which in turn promoted one’s intention to get vaccinated. We discuss practical implications of the findings for message strategies that target populations experiencing COVID-19 disparities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Given the design of this study, a power analysis suggested that a sample of 172 would be needed to detect a medium effect size, Cohen’s f² = .15, given α = .05 and power = .95. Participants who did not meet the age criterion or did not complete the study were excluded.

2. At the time of writing, there is not yet clear evidence that vaccinated people will not transmit COVID-19 to others. Nevertheless, this study used the expression “By getting vaccination, you will get the chance to protect your family, friends, and community from COVID-19” for other-referencing stimuli for the following reasons. First, it is to reflect reality: this is the language that has been widely used in campaigns that encourage COVID-19 vaccination. Second, it is guided by theories and evidence. This language has been theorized and tested by studies on message framing and reference point for health behavior change. Finally, it is based on empirical evidence about COVID-19 vaccine. While research on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination on transmission is ongoing, the CDC recently acknowledged that “a growing body of evidence indicates that people fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) are less likely to have asymptomatic infection or to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021b). Specifically, evidence shows that vaccinated people who were infected COVID-19 have a lower viral load compared to unvaccinated people (Petter et al., 2021). As viral load is a driver of the transmissibility, it is expected that vaccines can weaken the chains of COVID-19 transmission.