Moms' HPV vaccine attitudes not determined by sexual values

A mother's intention to vaccinate her daughter against the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) may have to do with parenting factors not related to feelings toward sexuality, according to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

One hundred and fifty-three mothers with daughters ages 11 to 17 were recruited to complete a questionnaire for the study, which was partially funded by Merck, maker of Gardasil.

Results showed that mothers who had less than a high school degree, had a history of a sexually transmitted infection, supervised their daughters more when they were with peers, and whose daughters would accept receiving three shots were more likely to be favorable about their daughters being vaccinated than mothers without these characteristics.

Mothers' self-reported age at start of sexual activity, daughter dating status and expected age at their start of sexual activity, mothers' sexual values and discussion of sexual topics were not related to HPV vaccination attitudes.