2026-10-14T03:47:21Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33993229 2026-09-25T05:37:20Z category_173 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Data Sheet 1_Social media use and expectations predict COVID-19 vaccine side effects: a prospective longitudinal study.docx Winston Tan (5392994) Kirsten Barnes (6427178) Kelly S. Clemens (10748328) Andrew L. Geers (6427184) Evan J. Livesey (9705119) Ben Colagiuri (476923) Applied Psychology COVID-19 vaccine expectations nocebo effect side effects social media Objective<p>Social media use has been implicated in the development of anti-vaccine attitudes. However, its connection with the post-vaccination experience itself remains unclear. The present longitudinal study examined how expectations and psychosocial factors are associated with the relationship between exposure to reports of COVID-19 vaccine side effects on social media and observers’ post-vaccination side effect experience.</p>Design and setting<p>Prospective longitudinal study using online surveys.</p>Participants and outcome measures<p>Five hundred thirty-eight adults residing in Australia indicated the burden (i.e., number of symptoms and related severity) of COVID-19 vaccine side effects seen reported by other users on social media and their own expectations of experiencing post-vaccination side effects (T1). Perceptions of social media and psychosocial beliefs were also measured. Experience of vaccine-attributed side effects were self-reported after participants received their first (T2; n = 299) and second (T3; n = 155) vaccine doses.</p>Results<p>There was a significant positive association between social media side effect burden exposure and the side effect burden experienced after receiving the first dose. Pre-vaccination side effect expectations formed an indirect association between these variables, but not for the exposure-second dose association. Worry about COVID-19 vaccine side effects, greater side effect severity experienced by known others, and stronger vaccine misconceptions strengthened the first dose indirect association through expectations.</p>Conclusion<p>Exposure to user-posted health information on social media was positively associated with post-vaccination side effect experiences and the pre-vaccination expectations associated with this relationship were modulated by several psychosocial factors. Health interventions should consider the potential role of social media-derived symptom information on negative health outcomes.</p> 2026-09-25T05:37:20Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1730585.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_Sheet_1_Social_media_use_and_expectations_predict_COVID-19_vaccine_side_effects_a_prospective_longitudinal_study_docx/33993229 CC BY 4.0