Defiance and low trust in medical doctors related to vaccine scepticism


Date:
August 20, 2020
Source:
University of Turku
Summary:
A new study shows that individuals who react negatively to rules
and recommendations and have lower trust in doctors more often
use complementary and alternative medicine, that is, treatments or
substances that are not included in the care offered or recommended
by doctors.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The results of a study conducted by scientists at the University of Turku,
AAbo Akademi University, and University of Bristol, show that people
who tend to react negatively to rules and recommendations have lower
trust in medical doctors and a more negative attitude towards vaccines,
or reject vaccines for themselves or their children.


==========================================================================
"The vaccine recommendations given by authorities or the social pressure
in society to get vaccinated may cause defiance in people who tend to
react negatively when they feel that they are forced to do something
or that someone is trying to persuade them," says Anna Soveri, Academy
Research Fellow at the University of Turku, Finland.

Because of the defiance, people may act contrary to what is expected
of them.

"In this case, defiance can lead to scepticism towards medical doctors
and negative attitudes towards vaccines, or even vaccine refusal,"
says Soveri.

Use of Alternative Medicine Quite Common The study also showed that
defiance and low trust in doctors are related to a higher likelihood to
use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM refers to treatments
and substances that are not included in evidence-based medicine, meaning treatments and substances for which the efficacy has not been clearly demonstrated through established scientific methods.



==========================================================================
In the study, 770 parents of young children were presented with a list
of CAM products, from which they were asked to select the ones they had
used during the past 12 months to treat an illness or to maintain good
health. Almost 40 per cent of the parents reported using one or more
CAM products.

"To use complementary and alternative medicine may be a way for people
to feel like they are free to make decisions in matters that concern
their own health," says Soveri.

High Trust towards Doctors Half of the parents reported that they had
taken the flu vaccine during the preceding season. Approximately 75 per
cent of the parents had accepted the childhood vaccines for their children without hesitation, but approximately seven per cent had refused to take
a vaccine for their child at least once.

However, most parents expressed high or relatively high trust in doctors.

"For example, nine out of ten parents partly or completely trusted the
doctors' ability to make correct diagnoses and that doctors have their patients' best interest in mind when making health-related decisions,"
tells Soveri.

The parents who participated in the study are part of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study at the University of Turku. The FinnBrain research is a birth cohort study with more than 4,000 families. The project was launched at
the University of Turku in 2010, and its purpose is to study the combined influence of environmental and genetic factors on child development.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Turku. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Anna Soveri, Linda C. Karlsson, Otto Ma"ki, Jan Antfolk, Otto Waris,
Hasse Karlsson, Linnea Karlsson, Mikael Lindfelt, Stephan
Lewandowsky.

Trait reactance and trust in doctors as predictors of vaccination
behavior, vaccine attitudes, and use of complementary and
alternative medicine in parents of young children. PLOS ONE, 2020;
15 (7): e0236527 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236527 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200820101946.htm

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