Pressured or Voluntary? Motivations for Vaccination during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Future Health-Protective Behaviors

Purpose This research investigates how individuals’ perceived motivations for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine—specifically, feeling pressured versus vaccinating voluntarily—relate to future health-protective behaviors and perceived risk of the vaccine and the virus. Methods In 2 studies, with a total of N = 1,252 respondents, participants self-reported their past vaccination motivation and completed measures assessing willingness to receive future vaccines, engage in general health-protective behaviors, and perceived risks associated with the virus and the vaccine. Results Findings consistently show that individuals who felt pressured to vaccinate are positioned between unvaccinated individuals and those who vaccinated voluntarily in their perceptions and intentions. Compared with voluntary vaccinators, they reported lower willingness to receive future vaccines and engage in protective behaviors and greater perceived vaccine risk. However, their willingness to engage in these behaviors was still greater than that of unvaccinated individuals. Limitations The studies are mainly cross-sectional and do not track the same individuals over time. Conclusions Perceived motivation for past vaccination significantly predicts vaccinated individuals’ attitudes and future intentions related to health behaviors, even unrelated to COVID-19. Implications Treating all vaccinated individuals as a uniform group can be overly simplistic. Public health messaging and interventions may be more effective when considering individuals’ vaccination motivation. Highlights Treating all vaccinated individuals the same can be simplistic. The perception of the vaccine and virus risks differ depending on whether vaccination felt voluntary or coerced. Different motivations behind vaccination can shape future medical decisions beyond the pandemic.