Recommending Breast Cancer Screening to My Mum: Examining the Interplay of Threat, Efficacy, and Virality on Recommendation Intention in the Chinese Context

Chen Luo, Zizhong Zhang () and Jing Jin
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Chen Luo: School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Zizhong Zhang: School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Jing Jin: School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: The burgeoning eHealth campaigns and the emerging daughter-to-mother health communication necessitate a close examination of the intricate mechanism behind recommending preventive behaviors in online settings. The present study addresses existing gaps by investigating how message characteristics and platform-generated virality cues jointly influence younger females’ intention to recommend breast cancer screening to their mothers. Drawing on the extended parallel process model (EPPM) as the theoretical basis, a 2 (threat: low vs. high) × 2 (efficacy: low vs. high) × 2 (virality: low vs. high) randomized between-subjects experiment ( n = 269) was performed. Results revealed a three-way interaction effect between threat, efficacy, and virality on message involvement. Message involvement was positively associated with recommendation intention and mediated the three-way interaction effect on recommendation intention. This study demonstrates that a high threat can initiate message involvement but fail to trigger recommendation intention. In contrast, a low-threat, high-efficacy, high-virality combination would yield a salutary outcome. Besides, the indispensable role of message involvement in the underlying psychological mechanism behind recommending preventive behaviors was reaffirmed. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.

Keywords: eHealth; breast cancer screening; extended parallel process model (EPPM); virality metrics; recommendation intention; message involvement; Chinese women (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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