VaccinationNCT07172074
Comparing Relative Strengths of Statistical Associations Between Psychological Traits and Vaccination-Related Outcomes I
A study testing General Psych Trait Measure and Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait Measures in people with Vaccination and Vaccination Hesitancy, run by University of Iowa at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this study was to identify psychological motives that had the strongest statistical associations with vaccine outcomes in order to identify novel intervention targets to be used in vaccine promotion efforts. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Vaccination, Vaccination Hesitancy, Vaccination Promotion
- What is being tested?
- General Psych Trait Measure and Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait Measures
- Type of treatment
- Vaccines
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 1,786 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 30 Dec 2022to 27 Feb 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Consent to participate
- Agree to provide quality responses
Who cannot join
- Quota completed (Equal #s of respondents in each group)
- Age group: 18-49, 50-64, 65+
- Race/ethnicity: Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic
- Income: <$50K, $50K or more
- Gender: Female, Male or other gender identity
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Improving Vaccine Outcomes in Older Adults-Quantitative
The goal of this study was to identify psychological motives that had the strongest statistical associations with vaccine outcomes in order to identify novel intervention targets to be used in vaccine promotion efforts. A national sample of US adults completed an online survey containing a variety of vaccine-related measures and psychological trait measures.
Read the detailed description
A national sample of US adults were recruited through Dynata, an online survey panel company, to complete an online survey. Participants completed a variety of vaccine-related survey items and an unprecedented number (>20) of psychological trait measures. This was possible by using a Planned Missingness Design, where respondents only answer a predetermined subset of survey questions, which allows us to include more measures without significantly increasing the burden for participants.
Participants were randomized to one of the three question blocks, where each block had a predetermined set of items that were roughly 1/3 of the items from each psychological trait measure. They were also randomized to complete questions that were about the psychological traits in general or about vaccines specifically.
- Being tested
- General Psych Trait Measure, Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait Measures
- Keywords
- Vaccination, Vaccine Confidence, Attitudinal Roots, Psychological Traits, Motivated Social Cognition
- Medical subject headings
- Vaccination Hesitancy
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
General Psych Trait MeasureDiagnostic test
Respondents were randomized to answer whether psychological trait questions were general or about vaccines
Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait MeasuresOther
Respondents were randomized to answer whether psychological trait questions were general or about vaccines
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Planned Missingness Design Block A | Experimental | Respondents were randomized to complete one of three blocks (items predetermined by being randomized to blocks, with 1/3 of items in each block) of the psychological trait measures Receives: Diagnostic Test: General Psych Trait Measure; Other: Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait Measures |
| Planned Missingness Design Block B | Experimental | Respondents were randomized to complete one of three blocks (items predetermined by being randomized to blocks, with 1/3 of items in each block) of the psychological trait measures Receives: Diagnostic Test: General Psych Trait Measure; Other: Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait Measures |
| Planned Missingness Design Block C | Experimental | Respondents were randomized to complete one of three blocks (items predetermined by being randomized to blocks, with 1/3 of items in each block) of the psychological trait measures Receives: Diagnostic Test: General Psych Trait Measure; Other: Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait Measures |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Vaccine attitudes
Feelings towards vaccines on a 7-point scale, with Very negative (1) and Very positive (7) as the scale anchors
Measured: Day 1
Vaccination History
Indicated if they had received up to 7 age-recommended vaccines (Response options: No, Yes, Don't know/Unsure)
Measured: Day 1
Secondary outcomes (4)
Psychological trait measures
26 measures: Needle phobia, Disgust sensitivity, Distrust, Conspiratorial mindset, Medical ambiguity aversion, Open-minded thinking, Self-protection motivation, Psychological reactance, 7 Moral Foundations, Self-construal, Social dominance orientation, Misinformation susceptibility, Faith in intuition, Delay discounting, Outcome bias, Scientific knowledge, Subjective numeracy, Health literacy, Medical maximizing-minimizing, Emotional reactivity to rare events
Measured: Day 1
7C Antecedents to Vaccination
Single item to measure each antecedent to vaccination
Measured: Day 1
Attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine
6 item measure
Measured: Day 1
Personal Characteristics/Demographics
16 characteristics: Gender, Age, Race/ethnicity, Income, State of residence, Zip code, Relationship status, Education, Work in medical field, Economic political ideology, Social political ideology, Political party affiliation strength, Religiosity, Religious ideology, Subjective health, Health conditions
Measured: Day 1
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted15 Sep 2025
- Study start30 Dec 2022
- Primary completion27 Feb 2025
- Study completion27 Feb 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for VaccinationStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of IowaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Model description
- Decades of research has shown that information is sought out, evaluated, and used in a biased way in order to satisfy people's motivations to satisfy their psychological needs. This bias in information processing is broadly referred to as "motivated social cognition". Three general psychological needs people are motivated to satisfy include: 1. Managing threats: Motivations to eliminate perceived physical, emotional, or ideological threats 2. Reducing uncertainty: Motivations to reduce uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, or disorder 3. Achieving social goals: Motivations for relationships with like-minded others and keeping groups distinct I propose that different forms of these motives may underlie vaccine outcomes and the processing of vaccine-related information.
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 1,786 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Iowa
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Aaron Scherer, University of Iowa
- Investigators
- Aaron Scherer, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Iowa
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07172074
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 202211127
- Other IDs
- 5K01AG065440
- Status last verified
- Sep 2025
- First submitted
- 3 Sep 2025
- Last updated
- 16 Sep 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Will be available upon request or posted on Dr. Scherer's personal Open Science Foundation website (https://osf.io/wgf4j)
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 16 Sep 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Improving Vaccine Outcomes in Older Adults-Quantitative
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07172074
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 202211127
- Keywords
- Vaccination, Vaccine Confidence, Attitudinal Roots, Psychological Traits, Motivated Social Cognition
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 1,786 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of IowaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Study start
- 30 Dec 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 27 Feb 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 27 Feb 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 15 Sep 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this study was to identify psychological motives that had the strongest statistical associations with vaccine outcomes in order to identify novel intervention targets to be used in vaccine promotion efforts. A national sample of US adults completed an online survey containing a variety of vaccine-related measures and psychological trait measures.
Detailed description
A national sample of US adults were recruited through Dynata, an online survey panel company, to complete an online survey. Participants completed a variety of vaccine-related survey items and an unprecedented number (>20) of psychological trait measures. This was possible by using a Planned Missingness Design, where respondents only answer a predetermined subset of survey questions, which allows us to include more measures without significantly increasing the burden for participants.
Participants were randomized to one of the three question blocks, where each block had a predetermined set of items that were roughly 1/3 of the items from each psychological trait measure. They were also randomized to complete questions that were about the psychological traits in general or about vaccines specifically.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, investigator)
- Number of arms
- 3
- Model description
- Decades of research has shown that information is sought out, evaluated, and used in a biased way in order to satisfy people's motivations to satisfy their psychological needs. This bias in information processing is broadly referred to as "motivated social cognition". Three general psychological needs people are motivated to satisfy include: 1. Managing threats: Motivations to eliminate perceived physical, emotional, or ideological threats 2. Reducing uncertainty: Motivations to reduce uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, or disorder 3. Achieving social goals: Motivations for relationships with like-minded others and keeping groups distinct I propose that different forms of these motives may underlie vaccine outcomes and the processing of vaccine-related information.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Planned Missingness Design Block A | Experimental | Diagnostic Test: General Psych Trait Measure, Other: Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait MeasuresRespondents were randomized to complete one of three blocks (items predetermined by being randomized to blocks, with 1/3 of items in each block) of the psychological trait measures |
| Planned Missingness Design Block B | Experimental | Diagnostic Test: General Psych Trait Measure, Other: Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait MeasuresRespondents were randomized to complete one of three blocks (items predetermined by being randomized to blocks, with 1/3 of items in each block) of the psychological trait measures |
| Planned Missingness Design Block C | Experimental | Diagnostic Test: General Psych Trait Measure, Other: Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait MeasuresRespondents were randomized to complete one of three blocks (items predetermined by being randomized to blocks, with 1/3 of items in each block) of the psychological trait measures |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Consent to participate
- Agree to provide quality responses
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Quota completed (Equal #s of respondents in each group)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| General Psych Trait MeasureRespondents were randomized to answer whether psychological trait questions were general or about vaccines | Diagnostic test | Planned Missingness Design Block A, Planned Missingness Design Block B, Planned Missingness Design Block C |
| Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait MeasuresRespondents were randomized to answer whether psychological trait questions were general or about vaccines | Other | Planned Missingness Design Block A, Planned Missingness Design Block B, Planned Missingness Design Block C |
Primary outcome
Vaccine attitudes
Time frame: Day 1
Feelings towards vaccines on a 7-point scale, with Very negative (1) and Very positive (7) as the scale anchors
Vaccination History
Time frame: Day 1
Indicated if they had received up to 7 age-recommended vaccines (Response options: No, Yes, Don't know/Unsure)
4 secondary outcomes
Psychological trait measures
Time frame: Day 1
7C Antecedents to Vaccination
Time frame: Day 1
Attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Time frame: Day 1
Personal Characteristics/Demographics
Time frame: Day 1
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 16 Sep 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. Will be available upon request or posted on Dr. Scherer's personal Open Science Foundation website (https://osf.io/wgf4j)
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Aaron Scherer, PhD principal investigator
University of Iowa
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing General Psych Trait Measure and Vaccine-Specific Psych Trait Measures in people with Vaccination and Vaccination Hesitancy, run by University of Iowa at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Sep 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Vaccine attitudes (time frame: Day 1). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Sep 2025.