Participation in Cervical Screening as a Function of Perceived Risk, Barriers and need for Cognitive Closure

Questionnaires concerning cervical screening behaviour and attitudes were completed by a convenience sample of 70 female students aged 20-25 years. Based on the Prochaska-DiClemente definitions of 'stages of change', participants were classified into precontemplation, contemplation, action and maintenance groups according to their previous and intended screening behaviour. On average, participants rated their relative risk of personally contracting cervical cancer in the future to be below average, an apparent example of optimistic bias (p > .001). This was unrelated to their knowledge of behavioural risk factors or to their previous or intended screening behaviour. Linear trends were observed across the four groups in terms of perceived barriers to screening (precontemplators perceiving most barriers, p > .001) and on the Webster-Kruglanski measure of need for cognitive closure (precontemplators reporting lowest need, p > .01). The relationship between need for closure and stages of change appeared to be mediated by perceived barriers. It is argued that an understanding of psychological factors in screening should attend to differences in the extent to which individuals wish to reduce uncertainty about their own risk status, and their expectations concerning the screening processes.