Determinants of the Attitude to COVID-19 Vaccine in Lima-Peru: Path Analysis and Structural Regression

INTRODUCTION: Research on the effects of COVID-19 has shown that a favorable attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine would help reduce the pandemic's sequelae and avoid lethal variants. OBJECTIVE: A theoretical model was tested through the strategy of path analysis and structural equation modeling, seeking to evaluate the direct effect of neuroticism and the indirect effects of risk-avoidance and rule-following behaviors, mediated by attitudes toward science. METHODS: A total of 459 adults, mostly women (61%), mean age 28.51 (SD = 10.36), living in Lima (Peru), participated. The scales of neuroticism, risk avoidance behavior (RAB), norm following (NF), attitudes toward science, and attitudes toward vaccination were administered. RESULTS: The path analysis explained 36% of the variance in vaccine attitude, whereas the latent structural regression model achieved a 54% explanation; according to this model attitude toward science (β=.70, p < .01) and neuroticism (β=-.16, p < .01) are significant predictors of vaccine attitude. Likewise, risk avoidance behavior and rule-following have indirect effects on attitudes toward vaccination. CONCLUSION: Low neuroticism and a positive attitude toward the science that mediates the effects of RAB and NF directly condition the possibility of vaccination against COVID-19 in the adult population.