title: Understanding and predicting parental decisions about early childhood immunizations.
abstract: This research investigated the factors that influence decisions about immunizations. Women in the third trimester of pregnancy (N=195) rated their likelihood of immunizing their child; stated their reasons for and against immunizing; and rated their perceptions of the benefits and risks of immunization, feelings of responsibility, and anticipated regret if harm occurred. Immunization status was determined at follow-up. Stepwise regression analyses demonstrated that immunization decisions are strongly influenced by omission bias factors such as anticipated responsibility and regret variance (which explained more than 50% of variance). It is suggested that parents may benefit from antenatal decision aids that address omission bias and encourage them to assess benefits and risks of immunizations on the basis of scientific evidence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. a.wroe@iop.kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Abigail L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Wroe
authors.forename: Nikki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Salkovskis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires