Correlates of HPV Vaccination Among a Female College Student Sample
Open Access
- Author:
- Kelly, Kate Marie
- Area of Honors:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Eva Sharon Lefkowitz, Thesis Supervisor
Eva Sharon Lefkowitz, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Kathryn Bancroft Hynes, Thesis Honors Advisor
Hobart Harrington Cleveland III, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- HPV vaccine
female college students
predictors of vacinnation - Abstract:
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection, particularly among young adults. In 2006, a vaccine called Gardasil ® was introduced to protect against the 4 most virulent strands of HPV, types 6, 11, 16, and 18. Most research on the HPV vaccine has examined acceptability and intentions of getting vaccinated rather than actual vaccine uptake and has focused on adolescents and their parents. The present study attempted to address this lack of research on actual vaccine uptake by assessing correlates of HPV vaccination among a female college student sample (N=308). The predictors assessed were demographic variables, including race/ethnicity and mother’s education, as well as romantic relationship status, lifetime sex, lifetime number of partners, recent condom use, and health motivations against sex. Two logistic regressions were performed, one including the analytic sample of female college students and one including a subsample of sexually active female college students (N=190). Results indicated that African American female college students were less likely to be vaccinated and female college students whose mothers were more educated were more likely to be vaccinated.