Effects of Consideration of Future Consequences and Temporal Framing on Acceptance of the HPV Vaccine Among Young Adults

ABSTRACT

This study examines how individual difference in consideration of future consequences (CFC) and temporal framing (i.e., present- vs. future-oriented message) interact to influence the persuasive outcomes of a health message promoting human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among young adults. Results of an experiment (N = 416) showed a significant interaction effect of CFC and temporal framing on persuasion. The nature of the interaction suggested that individuals with high CFC generally were more persuaded by the present-oriented messages, compared to the future-oriented messages. On the other hand, those with low CFC responded similarly to the present- and future-oriented messages. Implications of the findings for HPV vaccination messaging are discussed.

Notes

¹ The HPV vaccine is typically offered for approximately $120 per single dose. Full protection requires the administration of three doses, which cost in total approximately $360 (Elbasha, Dasbach, & Insinga, 2007).

² At the univariate level, our results showed significant effect of the interaction for one of the three dependent variables (no significant effect on the other two). Since MANOVA is an extension of ANOVA in which effects are assessed on a linear combination of the dependent variables, it is possible for the combined effects to be diluted if no significant effects are associated with some of the dependent variables.