The psychological mechanism underlying the effects of cancer information on screening intention: focusing on cancer-related affect and cognition

Chae, Jiyoung

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/78407 Copy

Description

Title

The psychological mechanism underlying the effects of cancer information on screening intention: focusing on cancer-related affect and cognition

Author(s)

Chae, Jiyoung

Issue Date

2015-04-17

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Lee, Chul-joo

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Lee, Chul-joo

Committee Member(s)

• Tewksbury, David H.
• Quick, Brian L.
• Huhman, Marian

Department of Study

Communication

Discipline

Communication

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Cancer information
• Cancer fear
• Cancer worry
• Cancer risk perception
• screening intention
• Integrative model

Abstract

It has been found that cancer information exposure is positively associated with the adoption of healthy behaviors, such as cancer screening. However, the process through which cancer information positively influences cancer screening has not been fully investigated. The present study expected that cancer information exposure would be related to various feelings and thoughts that people have toward cancer, which might predict behavioral intention to get screened for cancer. That is, the present study, in the framework of an integrative model of behavioral prediction, investigated the psychological mechanism underlying the effects of cancer information on screening intention, focusing on cancer-related affect and cognition. Two studies were conducted using two samples. Sample 1 participants (N = 308; U.S. undergraduates) were asked about cancer in general. Sample 2 participants were Korean people aged 40 or older, and they participated in a two-wave survey about stomach cancer (N = 1,130 at Wave 1 and N = 813 at Wave 2). Given that conceptualization and operationalization of cancer-related affect and cognition has not been consistent in previous cancer literature, Study 1 developed a three-factor cancer-related mental condition model that includes cancer fear (affective), cancer worry (affective-cognitive), and cancer risk perception (cognitive) in Sample 1, and validated the model in the stomach cancer context using Sample 2, Wave 1 data. The results showed that cancer fear, cancer worry, and cancer risk perception are all distinct from each other, although they are all positively correlated. Study 2 tested whether cancer information/avoidance and the cancer-related mental condition model at Wave 1 predict attitude/norm/self-efficacy and screening intention at Wave 2, using Sample 2 Wave 1 and 2 data. The results indicated that cancer information exposure was positively associated with cancer fear and cancer worry at Wave 1, which directly predicted screening intention at Wave 2. However, cancer fear at Wave 1 reduced screening intention at Wave 2, unlike cancer worry that increased screening intention at Wave 2. Cancer information exposure was also positively related to cancer risk perception at Wave 1, which increased screening intention at Wave 2 through norm. A medium-specific analysis revealed that cancer information from television was positively associated with cancer worry at Wave 1, which in turn predicted higher levels of screening intention at Wave 2. Print media exposure was positively related to cancer risk perception at Wave 1, which increased screening intention at Wave 2 through norm. In conclusion, the present study theorized the path from cancer information, cancer-related affective and cognitive variables, to preventive intention in the integrative model framework, extended the integrative model by demonstrating the direct influence of cancer-related affect (i.e., cancer fear) on behavioral intention, and showed the different roles of cancer fear, cancer worry, and cancer risk perception in cancer communication and prevention.

Graduation Semester

2015-5

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/78407

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Jiyoung Chae

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