Doubtful moms under scrutiny: survey
Mothers of unvaccinated children are judged harshly by other people and their children are more likely to be shunned by other families, according to a study from the University of B.C.
And it really matters why the child is unvaccinated.
Those moms who outright refuse to vaccinate their kids are viewed most negatively, said co-author Nicholas Fitz, now a research associate at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
“On measures of social distance — like would you let your child befriend an unvaccinated child or work on a school project together — across the board unvaccinated children suffered from stigma,” he said. “People felt the most anger and the least sympathy for the refusal group and viewed the mothers as a danger to the community.”
But, because of the perceived health hazard, the child is most likely to be shunned.
“They don’t want the family to move into the neighbourhood ... and they don’t want their children to play with (unvaccinated) children,” he said.
Moms who delay because of concerns about the safety of vaccines, or who haven’t kept up with vaccinations due to time constraints, are viewed negatively, too, but those moms and their kids aren’t as likely to be shunned.
“How under-vaccinated children and their parents are viewed by others heavily depends on the reasons why the child hasn’t been vaccinated,” said lead author Richard Carpiano, a sociology professor at UBC.
The study focused on mothers as they tend to be the primary healthcare decision-makers for children.
A local mom, who works in alternative health care, complained that she feels judged by schools and hospitals and every point of contact with the government for refusing or delaying vaccinations. She didn’t want to be named for fear of stigmatizing her preschoolaged children.
“I delayed the first set of vaccinations and I am waiting on another round,” she said.
She said that “weird judgy” treatment makes moms who are wary of vaccination feel defensive and angry. “I had a horrible experience at the health unit where I clearly told them I wanted the DTaP (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) vaccine only,” she said.
The nurse was insistent that she also consent to the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, though she refused.
“At a followup visit I learned she had given both to my daughter at that visit,” she said.
To assess attitudes toward mothers, the researchers surveyed 1,469 Americans who were asked to read one of four scenarios: a mother who has concerns and refuses to vaccinate her children, a mother who has concerns and delays vaccination, a mother who is behind on vaccinations due to job and family constraints, and a scenario in which the mom has ensured her child always receives recommended vaccinations.
“Mothers who delayed vaccinations due to time constraints were still judged harshly because of concerns about herd immunity and risk of infecting other children and that was danger-driven,” said Fitz. “But they didn’t suffer as much from anger or lack of sympathy.”
The attitudes people show toward unvaccinated children have serious public-policy implications. People who read the refusal scenario were considerably more likely to support banning unvaccinated children from school or fining the parents, while people who read the delay scenarios were more likely to support public education programs.
Challenging people’s anti-vaccination attitudes tends to further entrench those beliefs and make them more resistant to vaccination and factual arguments, what is called the “backfire effect,” Fitz said.
“The messaging needs to focus on the danger to the child rather than correcting their views, and that is the path in,” he said.
People felt the most anger and the least sympathy for the refusal group and viewed the mothers as a danger.