# Vaccine Perceptions Outweigh Emotional Flow in Predicting HPV Vaccination Intentions Among Gen Z College Students

## TL;DR

This study finds that vaccine perceptions, not emotional messages, best predict HPV vaccination intentions among Gen Z college students.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel comparison of emotional flow in messaging and its limited impact compared to vaccine perceptions on vaccination intentions.

## Key findings

- Emotional flow in messages did not significantly affect vaccination intention among unvaccinated participants.
- Vaccinated participants had stronger perceptions of vaccine benefits and HPV severity.
- TV advertising was the top source of HPV information for participants.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: HPV vaccination rates among U.S. young adults remain unchanged at 47% since 2019. Barriers including misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and stigma surrounding HPV’s long-standing association with sexually transmitted infections have limited widespread acceptance among the male population. This experimental study explores how prevention messages incorporating an emotional flow element may influence vaccination intention. It also examines whether vaccination status may differentiate pre-exposure risk-taking tendencies and vaccine perceptions—as well as post-exposure HPV susceptibility, HPV severity, vaccine effectiveness, and emotional response—among young adults. Methods: A one-factor between-subjects experiment (including facts-only vs. facts→threat vs. facts→threat→hope conditions) was conducted online with a group of Gen Z college students at a U.S. university (N = 440). Results: ANCOVA results indicated that emotional flow embedded in the three message conditions did not result in significantly different emotional responses (across all participants) or vaccination intention among the unvaccinated participants. Whereas vaccinated participants reported greater perceived vaccine benefits, HPV susceptibility, HPV severity, and vaccine effectiveness, unvaccinated participants exhibited stronger emotional responses toward the facts→threat→hope message instead. Regression results revealed that vaccine perceptions, risk-taking tendencies, HPV susceptibility, and emotional response significantly predicted vaccination intention, in that order. TV advertising was identified as the leading HPV information source, followed by social media advertisements and recommendations from health professionals. Conclusions: These findings highlight that incorporating emotional flow may enhance message engagement among unvaccinated individuals. HPV campaigns should consider increasing positive vaccine perceptions, alleviating perceived threat of HPV, and eliciting positive emotional response toward vaccination acceptance and adoption.