TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma in patients with depression
T2 - a network perspective
AU - Cai, Hong
AU - Bai, Wei
AU - Du, Xiangdong
AU - Zhang, Ling
AU - Zhang, Lan
AU - Li, Yu Chen
AU - Liu, Huan Zhong
AU - Tang, Yi Lang
AU - Jackson, Todd
AU - Cheung, Teris
AU - An, Feng Rong
AU - Xiang, Yu Tao
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission (Grant No.: Z181100001718124), Beijing Talents Foundation (Grant No.: 2017000021469G222), and the University of Macau (MYRG2019-00066-FHS), and the Suzhou Key Medical Center for Psychiatric Diseases (Szzx201509).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - The association between coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma of having a mental illness is not clear. This study examined the association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma among patients with recurrent depressive disorder (depression hereafter) using network analysis. Participants were 1149 depressed patients (842 men, 307 women) who completed survey measures of perceived stigma and COVID-19 vaccine attitudes. T-tests, chi-square tests, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between depressed patients who indented to accepted vaccines and those who were hesitant. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses assessed the unique association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma, independent of depression severity. Network analysis examined item-level relations between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma after controlling for depressive symptoms. Altogether, 617 depressed patients (53.7%, 95 confidence intervals (CI) %: 50.82–56.58%) reported they would accept future COVID-19 vaccination. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated higher perceived stigma scores predicted lower levels of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance (β = −0.125, P < 0.001), even after controlling for depression severity. In the network model of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and perceived stigma nodes, “Feel others avoid me because of my illness”, “Feel useless”, and “Feel less competent than I did before” were the most influential symptoms. Furthermore, “COVID-19 vaccination acceptance” had the strongest connections with illness stigma items reflecting social rejection or social isolation concerns (“Employers/co-workers have discriminated”, “Treated with less respect than usual”, “Sense of being unequal in my relationships with others”). Given that a substantial proportion of depressed patients reported hesitancy with accepting COVID-19 vaccines and experiences of mental illness stigma related to social rejection and social isolation, providers working with this group should provide interventions to reduce stigma concerns toward addressing reluctance in receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
AB - The association between coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma of having a mental illness is not clear. This study examined the association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma among patients with recurrent depressive disorder (depression hereafter) using network analysis. Participants were 1149 depressed patients (842 men, 307 women) who completed survey measures of perceived stigma and COVID-19 vaccine attitudes. T-tests, chi-square tests, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between depressed patients who indented to accepted vaccines and those who were hesitant. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses assessed the unique association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma, independent of depression severity. Network analysis examined item-level relations between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma after controlling for depressive symptoms. Altogether, 617 depressed patients (53.7%, 95 confidence intervals (CI) %: 50.82–56.58%) reported they would accept future COVID-19 vaccination. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated higher perceived stigma scores predicted lower levels of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance (β = −0.125, P < 0.001), even after controlling for depression severity. In the network model of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and perceived stigma nodes, “Feel others avoid me because of my illness”, “Feel useless”, and “Feel less competent than I did before” were the most influential symptoms. Furthermore, “COVID-19 vaccination acceptance” had the strongest connections with illness stigma items reflecting social rejection or social isolation concerns (“Employers/co-workers have discriminated”, “Treated with less respect than usual”, “Sense of being unequal in my relationships with others”). Given that a substantial proportion of depressed patients reported hesitancy with accepting COVID-19 vaccines and experiences of mental illness stigma related to social rejection and social isolation, providers working with this group should provide interventions to reduce stigma concerns toward addressing reluctance in receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139446562&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41398-022-02170-y
DO - 10.1038/s41398-022-02170-y
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36195590
AN - SCOPUS:85139446562
SN - 2158-3188
VL - 12
JO - Translational Psychiatry
JF - Translational Psychiatry
IS - 1
M1 - 429
ER -