Effectiveness of asking anticipated regret in increasing HPV vaccination intention in mothers

To determine the effectiveness of asking Anticipated Regret Questions (ARQ) and risk presentation format on enhancing attitudes and behavioral intentions of mothers to have their daughters receive the HPV vaccine.

The study used a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design with a no message control, involving 2 anticipated regret conditions (asked or not asked) and HPV risk presentation format (text only or graphical presentation of risk). Data were collected from a national sample of 320 mothers of girls ages 11-16.

The primary outcome variable was mothers' intention to vaccinate their daughters with all 3 doses of the HPV shots. Message involvement, perceived ease of message comprehension, and health beliefs regarding HPV infection and the HPV vaccine were also measured.

Results indicated there was a significant interactive effect of asking anticipated regret and risk presentation format on message involvement and behavioral intention. ARQ positively influenced behavioral intention only among mothers exposed to the graphical presentation of HPV-related statistics. This effect was mediated by message involvement. Thus, the combined effect of the graphical message and anticipated-regret questions on behavioral intentions was mediated by increased emotional involvement with the information concerning cervical cancer and HPV vaccination. These findings are consistent with the view that the formation of health-behavior intentions often involves the interplay of both affective and cognitive processing.