Psychological and social predictors of decisions about genetic testing for breast cancer in high-risk women

The social, psychological and demographic factors associated with the decision of high-risk women to undergo breast cancer gene testing were investigated within the framework of the Health Belief Model (HBM). Participants were 108 Canadian volunteers from the following groups: (1) women who had at least one female blood relative diagnosed with breast cancer within the past two years (HR group; n = 58) and (2) women from the general population who had never been diagnosed with cancer of any type (GP group; n = 50). All participants completed a survey designed to collect demographic information, familial cancer history, disease perceptions/attitudes and interest in gene testing for breast cancer susceptibility. As expected, the attitudes of HR group women about gene testing differed from those in the general population on a number of variables. Specifically, women with an affected family member were more likely to be interested in genetic testing than those from the general population. Perceptions of increa...