Table 1 Overview of social-psychological scale measures 1
Measure | Item | Answer options | Scale (minimum to maximum value) | Number of items | Cronbach’s alpha (α) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Knowledge about the HPV vaccinationa | ־ HPV is sexually transmittable; | −1 = incorrect | −8 = incorrect | 8 | n/a |  |
־ HPV is a virus; | 0 = don’t know | 8 = correct | ||||
Ö¾ The HPV vaccination in the Netherlands consists of three injections; | 1 = correct | |||||
Ö¾ My daughter is/I am obliged to get the HPV vaccination when she is/I am invited; | ||||||
Ö¾ You will always notice when you are infected by HPV; | ||||||
Ö¾ Only women can get infected by HPV; | ||||||
Ö¾ Women who received the HPV vaccination are still advised to participate in the cervical cancer screening in the Netherlands; | ||||||
Ö¾ The HPV vaccination fully protects against cervical cancer. | ||||||
Risk perception (having received no HPV vaccination) | Imagine that your daughter was/you were not vaccinated against HPV. The chance that my daughter will get/I will get cervical cancer is… | −3 = very small to 3 = very large | n/a | 1 | n/a | |
Risk perception (having received the HPV vaccination) | Imagine that your daughter was/you were vaccinated against HPV. The chance that my daughter will get/I will get cervical cancer is… | −3 = very small to 3 = very large | n/a | 1 | n/a | |
Attitude towards the HPV vaccination | Vaccinating my daughter/myself against HPV is… | −3 = very undesirable to 3 = very desirable; | −12 = negative to 12 = positive | 4 | M = .98 | [31] |
D = .94 | ||||||
−3 = very bad to 3 = very good; | ||||||
−3 = very negative to 3 = very positive; | ||||||
−3 = very unimportant to 3 = very important | ||||||
Negative outcome expectations of the HPV vaccination | If my daughter gets/I get the HPV vaccination… | −3 = completely agree to 3 = completely disagree | −15 = completely agree to 15 = completely disagree | 5 | M = .60 | |
D = .49 | ||||||
Ö¾ she/I will become infertile; | ||||||
Ö¾ she/I will get unpleasant side effects shortly after the injection, such as head ache, fever or pain at the injection spot; | ||||||
Ö¾ she/I will be afraid of the injection with a needle; | ||||||
Ö¾ she/I will have unsafe sex in the future; | ||||||
Ö¾ her/my natural immune system against illnesses will be disturbed. | ||||||
Positive outcome expectations of the HPV vaccination | If my daughter gets/I get the HPV vaccination… | −3 = completely disagree to 3 = completely agree | −9 = completely disagree to 9 = completely agree | 3 | M = .76 | |
D = .77 | ||||||
Ö¾ she/I will not contract cervical cancer; | ||||||
Ö¾ she/I will not have to worry about cervical cancer; | ||||||
Ö¾ she/I will not be infected with HPV. | ||||||
Anticipated regret about rejecting the HPV vaccination | Imagine your daughter has not received the HPV vaccination and she gets cervical cancer in the future. How much would you regret your decision to let her receive no vaccination? | 1 = no regret and 5 = very much regret | n/a | 1 | n/a | Â |
Anticipated regret about receiving the HPV vaccination | Imagine your daughter has received the HPV vaccination and she gets a serious illness as a result of the vaccine. How much would you regret your decision to let her receive the vaccination? | 1 = no regret and 5 = very much regret | n/a | 1 | n/a | Â |
Beliefs about the HPV vaccination | ־ If the government offers the vaccination, I assume it will be safe; | −3 = completely disagree to 3 = completely agree | −18 = negative to 18 = positive | 9 | M = .80 | |
D = .70 | ||||||
־ Our government shows responsibility for the health of the Dutch population by introducing the HPV vaccination; | −3 = completely agree to 3 = completely disagree | |||||
Ö¾ The HPV vaccination was only introduced because the pharmaceutical industry will earn a lot of money from it; | ||||||
Ö¾ There is too little known about whether | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | |
the HPV vaccination effectively protects against cervical cancer; | Â | |||||
Ö¾ There is too little known about the detrimental side effects of the HPV vaccination; | ||||||
Ö¾ My daughter is/I am too young to receive the HPV vaccination; | ||||||
Ö¾ My daughter does/I do not need to get the HPV vaccination if she is/I am already sexually active; | ||||||
Ö¾ My daughter does/I do not need the vaccination because she is/I am not yet sexually active; | ||||||
Ö¾ It is inappropriate that my daughter has/I have to pay for the HPV vaccination if she decides/I decide to get the vaccination at a higher age. | ||||||
Relative effectiveness of the HPV vaccinationb | How would you rate the effectiveness of the following methods of preventing cervical cancer: | 1 = not at all effective to 10 = very effective | n/a | 5 | n/a | Â |
Ö¾ having safe sex | Â | |||||
Ö¾ having sex with only one person in a lifetime | ||||||
Ö¾ participating in the cervical cancer screening | ||||||
Ö¾ having a healthy lifestyle (e.g. not smoking) | ||||||
Ö¾ the HPV vaccination | ||||||
Participants rated the effectiveness of each method | ||||||
Ambivalence towards the HPV vaccination decision | During my decision making about my daughter’s/my HPV vaccination… | −3 = completely disagree to 3 = completely agree | −9 = completely disagree to 9 = completely agree | 3 | M = .93 |  |
D = .85 | ||||||
Ö¾ I felt torn between the pros and cons of vaccination; | Â | |||||
Ö¾ I experienced positive as well as negative feelings; | ||||||
Ö¾ I was torn between the pros and cons of vaccination. | ||||||
Confidence in authorities involved in the HPV vaccination | As regards the HPV vaccination, how much confidence do you have in… | −3 = very little to 3 = very much confidence | −9 = very little to 9 = very much confidence | 3 | M = .91 |  |
D = .88 | ||||||
Ö¾ science | ||||||
Ö¾ health care | ||||||
Ö¾ the Ministry of Public Health | ||||||
Participants rated their confidence in each authority | ||||||
Subjective norms towards the HPV vaccinationc | Normative beliefs | −2 = certainly not vaccinating to 2 = certainly vaccinating, | −70 =negative to 70 = positive (M); | M = 7 | M = .85 | [31] |
What is your expectation on the opinion of … about the HPV vaccination of your daughter? | D = 6 | D = .77 | ||||
3 = not applicable; | −60 =negative to 60 = positive (D) | |||||
Not applicable was recoded into ‘0’ | ||||||
Social referents: partner (M), parents (M), daughter (M), father (D), mother (D), best friends (M/D), general practitioner (M/D), doctor/nurse from the municipal health service (M/D), the Ministry of Public Health (M/D) | ||||||
| Â | Motivation to comply | 1 = not at all to 5 = very much | M = 7 | Â | [31] | |
How motivated are you to comply with the opinion of …? | D = 6 | |||||
Descriptive norms towards the HPV vaccination | How many parents/girls do you know who will decide to let their daughter/themselves be vaccinated against HPV if they receive the invitation? | 1 = none of the parents/girls I know, to 7 = all the parents/girls I know | n/a | 1 | n/a | [31] |
Self-efficacy expectations towards the HPV vaccination | To what extent would you succeed in dealing with the following situations: | −3 = I would certainly not succeed to 3 = I would certainly succeed | −18 = I would certainly not succeed to 18 = I would certainly succeed | 6 | M = .82 |  |
D = .66 | ||||||
Ö¾ Finding reliable information about the HPV vaccination; | ||||||
Ö¾ Understanding information about the HPV vaccination; | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | |
Ö¾ Making a different decision about the HPV vaccination of my daughter/myself than most parents/girls among my acquaintances; | ||||||
Ö¾ Having a good talk with my daughter about the HPV vaccination (M); | ||||||
Ö¾ Having a good talk with my partner about the HPV vaccination (M); | ||||||
Ö¾ Having a good talk with my father about the HPV vaccination (D); | ||||||
Ö¾ Having a good talk with my mother about the HPV vaccination (D); | ||||||
Ö¾ Having a good talk with my general practitioner about the HPV vaccination. | ||||||
HPV vaccination information processing | Before I finally decided about my (daughter’s) vaccination, I… |  | −6 = completely disagree to 6 = completely agree | 2 | M = .84 | [31] |
D = .75 | ||||||
Ö¾ gathered a lot of information about the HPV vaccine | ||||||
־ thoroughly considered the HPV vaccination | −3 = completely disagree to 3 = completely agree | |||||
Participants rated their agreement on both items separately | ||||||
Habit strength towards the HPV vaccination | Letting my daughter receive the HPV vaccination/Receiving the HPV vaccination is something I do… | −3 = completely disagree to 3 = completely agree | −6 = completely disagree to 6 = completely agree | 2 | M = .78 | [35] |
D = .65 | ||||||
Ö¾ automatically | ||||||
Ö¾ without thinking | ||||||
Participants rated their agreement on both items separately | ||||||
Decisional conflict about the HPV vaccination - value clarity | As regards the HPV vaccination… | −3 = completely disagree to 3 = completely agree | −9 = completely disagree to 9 = completely agree | 3 | M = .89 | [36] |
Ö¾ I was clear about which benefits were most important to me; | D = .85 | |||||
Ö¾ I was clear about which risks were most important to me; | ||||||
Ö¾ I was clear about which was more important to me, the benefits or the risks. | ||||||
Decisional conflict about the HPV vaccination - certainty | As regards the HPV vaccination… | −3 = completely disagree to 3 = completely agree | −9 = completely disagree to 9 = completely agree | 3 | M = .89 | [36] |
D = .87 | ||||||
Ö¾ I felt sure about what to choose; | ||||||
Ö¾ the decision was relatively easy to make; | ||||||
Ö¾ I was clear about the best choice for me/my daughter. | ||||||
Opinion about alternative medicine | In what way do you agree with the view of… | −3 = completely disagree to 3 = completely agree | −9 = completely disagree to 9 = completely agree | 3 | M = .81 |  |
Ö¾ anthroposophy | D = .76 | |||||
Ö¾ homeopathy | ||||||
Ö¾ other alternative medicine | ||||||
Past cancer experienced | Have you/has your mother had experience with… | 1 = no, 2 = yes, 3 = I do not want to answer this question | n/a | 6 | n/a | |
Do you know someone from your close environment who has/has had… | ||||||
Ö¾ cervical cancer | ||||||
Ö¾ other cancers | ||||||
Ö¾ abnormal pap smear |