Cross-country assessment of the unique contributions of psychological factors to vaccination: Perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have identified the most relevant and significant psychological factors in relation to COVID-19 vaccination attitudes in Ghana, Germany, New Zealand and India. This study recruited 1822 participants from the general populations of India ( n  = 411), New Zealand ( n  = 413), Ghana ( n  = 523) and Germany ( n  = 475) to participate in a cross-sectional online survey. After controlling for the country of residence, individual psychological factors played a significant role in shaping attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. The results also revealed strong direct predictors that explained significant portions of the variance in the COVID-19 vaccination attitudes. Positive affect emerged as the strongest contributor in Ghana (7%), while self-compassion strongly influenced COVID-19 vaccination attitudes in India (66%). Dispositional optimism was the strongest predictor in New Zealand (5%). In Germany, compassion towards others was the strongest positive predictor (2%), while psychological distress had a strong negative impact (3%). Results highlight the importance of promoting emotional well-being to enhance vaccination coverage.