ABSTRACT
Why do some people refuse vaccination? The current study contributes to answering this question by examining multiple predictors of COVID-19 vaccination refusal in Sweden. We further explore how these predictors are associated with anti-vaccination attitudes and to what extent anti-vaccination attitudes mediate the association with vaccination refusal. Using original survey data from 1293 Swedish citizens analyzed with structural equation modeling, we examined whether anti-vaccination attitudes accounted for associations between contrarian worldviews (e.g., conspiracy mentality, climate change denial), political orientations (e.g., right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation), psychological dispositions (e.g., need for cognitive closure, need to belong), and demographic factors with COVID-19 vaccination refusal in Sweden. Contrarian worldviews were strongly associated with higher anti-vaccination attitudes, which were in turn associated with higher likelihood of vaccination refusal. Political orientation variables contributed little unique explanatory value beyond contrarian worldviews. A small indirect effect emerged for social dominance orientation, though all direct associations between political orientation and vaccination outcomes were nonsignificant. Psychological dispositions demonstrated differentiated patterns, with need for cognitive closure and need to belong showing direct associations with vaccination refusal, and anxiety positively associated with anti-vaccination attitudes. These findings imply that contrarian worldviews may be more relevant than ideology in understanding anti-vaccination attitudes and vaccination refusal.