Psychosocial Factors Affecting the Use of Mammography Testing for Breast Cancer Susceptibility: An Eight-Month Follow-Up Study in a Middle-Aged Japanese Woman Sample

We examined the psychosocial factors affecting middle-aged Japanese women’s intentions to undergo mammography, as well as their actual usage of mammography by applying the Parallel Processing Model (PPM) of self regulation longitudinally. A total of 1030 middle-aged women living in all parts of Japan participated in this study through internet research from September 2010 to May 2011. The participants were evaluated on the basis of a battery of questionnaires mainly including demographics, perceived breast cancer risk, worry about breast cancer, mammography testing beliefs, intentions to use mammography, seeking information about mammography, and actual usage of mammography thrice over an eight-month period. The main results were as follows: 1) Perceived risk and cancer worry affected the intention of undergoing mammography, and this effect was mediated by beliefs about mammography testing. 2) Intention to use mammography and past mammography usage predicted future usage of mammography, with past mammography usage being the strongest predictor. 3) Information seeking about mammography was the strongest predictor of using mammography during the eight-month follow-up period of middle-aged women who had not undergone any mammography testing. PPM was a useful model to explain the mechanism behind middle-aged Japanese women’s intentions to use mammography, as well as their actual usage of mammography. In addition, past mammography experience was the strongest predictor of regular mammography usage and information seeking was a critical factor for the first-usage of mammography.