Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a group of viruses that currently infect approximately 25 million American women, is a serious health threat that has been directly linked to cervical cancer, as well as to other gynecological, sex organ, and oropharyngeal cancers (Syrjanen, 2007). In 2006, the FDA approved a controversial vaccine that would prevent two of the strains most often linked to HPV-related cancers, but the vaccine must be administered to pre-sexual girls between the ages of 9 and 12 in order to be most effective. Little attention has been focused on college-age women who are also at risk for dangerous HPV strains. This study is the first, to the researcher's knowledge, to examine the predictors of intention to vaccinate among a sample of 143 Midwestern college-age women. The study examined two social cognitive models, the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TpB), and tested the ability of these models to predict women's intention to receive the HPV vaccine. A cross-sectional, non-experimental design and multivariate regression models were used to compare the HBM and TpB's ability to predict intention to vaccinate. An integrative regression model was constructed utilizing both models' significant predictors. The HBM predicted 43% of the variance in intention, the TpB predicted 50% of the variance, and the integrative model predicted 57% of the variance in intention to vaccinate. Results of this integrative model showed that perceived susceptibility, benefits, self-efficacy, attitudes toward the vaccine, and subjective norms were significantly associated with participants' intention to receive the HPV vaccine. These findings suggest that an integrative model may be a more effective method for examining college-age women's intention to vaccinate than employing either the HBM or the TpB individually. Furthermore, an integrative model may provide valuable information for future development of public health interventions to improve HPV vaccination.
Recommended Citation
Buchanan, Juli A., "Comparing The Health Belief Model And Theory Of Planned Behavior In Predicting Intent To Vaccinate Against The Human Papillomavirus In College Women" (2008). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 975.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/975