The Multidimensional Vaccine Hesitancy Scale: A Validation Study

Abstract

Vaccination hesitancy (VH) is a phenomenon which increases the occurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases. The study tests the validity of the Multidimensional Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (MVHS) in the case of a sample of Romanian adults (n = 528; Meanage = 30.57). The latter filled in an online cross-sectional survey. The construct validity of MVHS was assessed by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the reliability was calculated by using the internal consistency, and the convergent and discriminant validity was assessed by using the composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted (AVE). The obtained model was invariant across gender. The structural equation model was designed for predictive validity by using the partial least square method (PLS-SEM) which analyses the relation between the MVHS dimensions and the vaccination willingness. The results show support for the 8-factor structure of the scale (χ2/df = 2.48; CFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.053). The Cronbach’s coefficients α > 0.70; McDonald’s ω > 0.70 and CR > 0.80 have very good values. The structural equation model shows that there are more dimensions of the scale which predict vaccination hesitancy in various types of vaccines—the main predictors remain the dimensions of health risk and healthy condition. The study’s conclusion led to the idea that the MVHS is suitable for medical practice and for research on the analysis of vaccination behaviours and intentions.