No abstract

This article reports a content analysis of YouTube videos related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. In total, 172 YouTube videos were examined with respect to video sources, tones, and viewer responses. Additionally, coverage of specific content was analyzed through the lens of the Health Belief Model (Rosenstock, 1974) and in terms of two content themes (i.e., conspiracy theory and civil liberties). The relations among these aspects of the videos were assessed as well. We found that most of these videos were news clips or consumer-generated content. The majority of the videos were negative in tone, disapproving of the HPV vaccine. In addition, negative videos were liked more by the viewers than positive or ambiguous ones. Accusations of conspiracy theory and infringement of civil liberties were manifested in these videos. The videos also presented mixed information related to the key determinants of health behavior as stipulated in the Health Belief Model. Implications for the findings are discussed.

This research examines the impact of exposure to online blogs about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine on vaccine-related risk perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. In a controlled experiment (N = 341), college students were exposed to either a negative blog post about the HPV vaccine or a positive one. Compared to the control group, participants who had viewed the negative blog perceived the vaccine as less safe, held more negative attitudes toward the vaccine, and had reduced intentions to receive the vaccine. In contrast, exposure to the positive blog did not alter any vaccine-related risk perceptions, attitudes, or intentions. Implications of the findings for online vaccine risk communication are discussed.

This research examines the influence of evidence type (statistical, narrative, or hybrid) and narrative type (first-person or third-person) on risk perception about human papillomavirus (HPV) and behavioral intention to get the HPV vaccine. In total, 174 college students who had not received the HPV vaccine participated in a controlled experiment. Results show that the hybrid message containing both statistical and narrative descriptions of HPV resulted in greater perceived risk of getting HPV than either of the messages containing just one type of evidence--statistical or narrative. Moreover, the first-person narrative message led to greater risk perception about HPV than the third-person narrative message. Both evidence type and narrative type had an indirect effect on intention to get the HPV vaccine free of cost through HPV risk perception. Implications of the findings for vaccine risk communication are discussed.

Drawing upon construal level theory, this research investigates the influence of social distance on individuals’ responses to persuasive messages. Experiment 1 (N= 133) demonstrates that the persuasive impact of a gain frame becomes stronger when people make judgments for socially distant (e.g., others) versus proximal entities (e.g., selves). On the other hand, the persuasive impact of a loss frame remains the same across different levels of social distance. Experiment 2 (N= 135) shows that the persuasiveness of a societal frame becomes stronger when people make judgments for socially distant versus proximal entities, whereas the persuasiveness of an individual frame is unaffected by social distance. Experiment 3 (N= 80) provides evidence that mental salience of positive and societal outcomes of an action increases as social distance increases, whereas mental salience of negative and individual outcomes remains the same across different levels of social distance.