COVID-19 vaccine uptake among family caregivers of people with dementia: The role of attitudes toward vaccination, perceived social support and personality traits.

People with dementia have an increased risk of contracting severe forms of COVID-19. Although in worldwide vaccination programs priority has been given to older people, having taken the vaccine does not totally eliminate the risk of contracting COVID-19 when one is in close contact with unvaccinated people. Thus, family caregivers' choices to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 could have potentially lethal consequences for their relatives. To our knowledge, this study represents the first attempt within the international literature to analyze COVID-19 vaccine uptake among family caregivers of people with dementia and to identify some of the psychological factors, related to COVID-19 and vaccination behavior, that could facilitate or hinder vaccine uptake. Contact information for family caregivers was obtained from five different centers and associations throughout the Italian territory. Data were collected from 179 respondents during July-September 2021 using a cross-sectional web-based survey design. More than 75% of the respondents indicated that had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and reported receiving vaccine information mainly from print or electronic newspapers (86%), followed by TV (81%) and families (64.2%). In multivariable logistic regression analyses, worries about unforeseen future effects was significantly related to COVID-19 vaccine uptake, indicating that family caregivers concerned about potential side effects of vaccines were less likely to have been vaccinated against COVID-19 (OR = 0.60, CI = 0.40-0.89). Openness to experience was also related to COVID-19 vaccine uptake, with family caregivers higher on this trait being less likely to have been vaccinated against COVID-19 (OR = 0.83, CI = 0.71-0.98). Implications for targeting of vaccine-related messages are discussed.

The longitudinal association between Perceived Stress, PTSD Symptoms, and Post-Traumatic Growth during the COVID-19 Pandemic: the role of coping strategies and psychological inflexibility.

The present study investigates the mediating roles of psychological inflexibility and differential coping strategies on perceived stress and post-traumatic symptoms and growth in the context of COVID-19. Study one recruited 662 participants (54.8% women; Mage = 40.64 years, SD = 13.04) who completed a cross-sectional questionnaire. It was proposed that orientation to the problem, avoidance strategies, psychological inflexibility, and positive attitude were mediators for the positive association between perceived stress and PTSD symptoms. The fit indices for the path model were excellent: CFI = 0.977, TLI = 0.950, RMSEA = 0.057 [90%CI = 0.043-0.081], and SRMS = 0.042. Gender and stressful events encountered had indirect effects on the endogenous variables. In study two, 128 participants (57.8% women; Mage = 42.30, SD = 12.08) were assessed for post-traumatic growth one year later. Psychological inflexibility and orientation acted as mediators between perceived stress and PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, a novel path model was constructed in which psychological inflexibility and orientation to the problem as mediators for perceived stress and PTSD symptoms. The indices for the path model were excellent: CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.055 [90%CI = 0.001-0.144], and SRMS = 0.49. Furthermore, PTSD symptoms, psychological inflexibility, and orientation to the problem predicted post-traumatic growth. Specifically, both orientation to the problem (ß = .06 [90%CI: .01;.13]) and psychological inflexibility (ß = .14 [90%CI: .08;.26]) had an indirect effect on post-traumatic growth. Overall, these results significantly contribute to the literature as orientation to the problem positively predicted PTSD symptoms and post-traumatic growth one year later while psychological inflexibility predicted PTSD symptoms and less post-traumatic growth one year later. These results underline the importance of assessing both symptomology and psychological growth to determine adaptive coping strategies in specific contexts.

The intention to get COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine uptake among cancer patients: An extension of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).

The psychosocial impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on human life is well-known. Although vaccine protection represents an effective way to control the spread of the virus, vaccination hesitancy may decrease individuals' willingness to get vaccinated, including among cancer patients. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to examine the predictors of cancer patients' intentions to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and vaccine uptake, using and integrating the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the health belief model (HBM). A sample of 276 Italian cancer patients (54% female and 46% male) ranging from 19 to 85 years (M = 49.64, SD = 11.53) was recruited by administering an online questionnaire. The current study results showed that cancer patients with higher trust in health authorities tended to have vaccine-positive subjective norms, perceived that vaccination was under their control, and viewed COVID-19 vaccines positively. On the other hand, the perceived risk of COVID-19 was related to subjective norms but not to perceived behavioural control or attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. The current study reveals that TPB variables can function effectively as mediators between perceived risk, trust, and intention to vaccinate but at different levels. Together, these findings suggest that effective interventions (both public health messaging and personal medical communications) should focus on enhancing trust in health authorities, while at the same time endeavouring to highlight subjective norms that are vaccine-positive.