When culture and health collide: feminine honor endorsement and attitudes toward catch-up HPV vaccinations in college women

Sexual promiscuity stigma constitutes a significant barrier which prevents young women from receiving catch-up human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations. Our objective was to explore how this stigma may be particularly detrimental to women in cultures of honor, where women are expected to maintain a reputation of sexual purity. Participants were a sample of 182 young women who had not previously received an HPV vaccination. We measured feminine honor endorsement, HPV sexual promiscuity stigma, HPV vaccination shame, HPV vaccination intentions, and a set of covariates. Analyses revealed that the significant association between feminine honor endorsement and HPV vaccination intentions is fully explained by HPV sexual purity stigma and HPV vaccination shame. These findings indicate that honor-endorsing women are significantly impacted by sexual purity stigma, minimizing intentions to receive HPV vaccinations. These findings also highlight the need for the inclusion of cultural factors in the study of HPV vaccine uptake.