Concern as Motivation for Protection: An Investigation of Mothers' Concern About Daughters' Breast Cancer Risk

Abstract

The present study surveyed mothers with daughters (N = 386) to investigate how mothers' concern about their daughters’ breast cancer risk influenced intentions to engage in preventive behaviors. Using protection motivation theory as a framework, self-efficacy, response efficacy, and level of concern were posited to influence protective behavioral intention in distinct ways. Results from regression analyses indicate that self-efficacy, response efficacy, and mothers' concern are significant predictors of intentions to engage in preventive behaviors with daughters. In addition, a content analysis of mothers' open-ended reasons for their concern about their daughters’ breast cancer risk yield a list of specific concerns and trends that vary by concern level and individual comment valence. The authors discuss implications for incorporating mothers’ concerns into breast cancer prevention messages as a novel strategy for campaign designers.

Acknowledgments

This article was funded by the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers grant number 1-U01-ES12800 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences or of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.

Notes

Note. Only cells with five or more occurrences (1% of sample) were included in this table.