Implicit prejudices based on race and sexual orientation do not predict COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Italy during the post-pandemic era

Background. COVID-19 has led to over 14 million deaths worldwide, evidencing the importance of investingating its antecedents. However, despite the increasing research efforts, the psychological underpinnings of vaccine rejection and vaccine hesitancy have not yet been completely understood. Previous literature showed in large samples that vaccine rejection is associated with explicit prejudice towards immigrants in UK and Ireland (Murphy et al., 2021). Aims. Building upon the existing literature and recognizing a research gap, our research aims to delve into the intricate nexus of factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Specifically, we investigate the role of social behavior by focusing on implicit prejudices concerning Race and Sexual Orientation. Method. The present study involved the administration of two Implicit Association Tests (IATs), focusing on Race and Sexual Orientation, and VH score. A regression (employing generalized linear models) with the IAT score as predictor and VH score as predicted for each IAT, and two independent samples T-test for comparing race IAT and sexual orientation IAT scores in participants with high- vs low VH. Results. Results showed that vaccine hesitancy and vaccine rejection are not releted to implicit prejudice for either race and sexual orientation in our sample of young Italian students in the post-pandemic era.