Mammography Stage of Adoption and Decision Balance Among Asian Indian and Filipino American Women

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Asian American women, and the death rate has increased almost 200% since 1990. Previous research has applied the transtheoretical model constructs to examine cancer screening behavior; however, to our knowledge, this is the first such investigation to examine relationships between stages of mammography adoption and decision balance among Asian American women. This article presents study findings from a convenience sample of 228 women aged 40 to 81 years (mean = 55.0, SD = 9.6) residing in southeastern Michigan. The current study demonstrates excellent support for the psychometric properties of a pros and cons measure, with promising Cronbach alphas above .70. Results from confirmatory factor analysis also support the factor structure derived from exploratory factor analysis with good model fit indices. This study also provides some support on transtheoretical model-hypothesized relationships in this sample of Asian American women that, as the stages of adoption of mammography proceeded from earlier to later ones, the decisional balance would become more favorable. The specific beliefs (both positive and negative) associated with the various stages of mammography adoption have implications for health professionals in developing stage-matched interventions to motivate women in adopting regular mammography.