Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-25-2024

Abstract

Family communication surrounding HPV vaccination can support or hinder HPV cancer prevention strategies. We used narrative communication theory to elicit HPV vaccine decision narratives in the context of family communication from a purposive sample of 29 parents of adolescents. Parent narratives indicated that family negotiations occur throughout the decision-making process, topic avoidance was common among parents of unvaccinated and undervaccinated children, parents had concerns that vaccination is a sign of approving sexual permissiveness, and family communication was often prompted by encounters in the exam room. Understanding complex family dynamics in the context of vaccination decision-making, the role of family communication (or lack thereof) in decisions, and effective negotiation and communication strategies can inform messaging tactics aimed at addressing disagreements in families and indicate how vaccinating may align rather than conflict with family values.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript version of an article accepted for publication in:

Garcia, S., Hopfer, S., Miller-Day, M., McCain, J., & Hecht, M. L. (2024). How Family Communication Emerges in HPV Vaccine Parent Narratives. Journal of Family Communication, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2024.2404865

It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Taylor & Francis

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Available for download on Wednesday, March 25, 2026

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