title: Using the common sense model to understand perceived cancer risk in individuals testing for BRCA1/2 mutations.
abstract: The common sense model posits that individuals' understanding of illness is based upon somatic symptoms and life experiences and thus may differ significantly from the biomedical view of illness. The current study used the common sense model to understand cancer risk perceptions in 99 individuals testing for BRCA1/2 mutations. Specifically, we examined change from post-counseling to post-result in (1) absolute risk (risk of developing cancer in one's lifetime) and (2) comparative risk (risk relative to the general population). Results indicated that absolute risk showed a trend such that those with a personal history of cancer receiving uninformative negative results reported decreased absolute risk. Further, individuals receiving uninformative negative results reported decreased comparative risk. Those with no personal cancer history receiving informative negative results did not decrease in risk over time nor did their risk differ from those with a personal cancer history, evidencing unrealistic pessimism regarding their risk of cancer. The reasons provided for individuals' risk perceptions could be classified in terms of attributes of the common sense model and included the: (1) causes of cancer (e.g. family history, mutation status); (2) control or cure of cancer through health behaviors and/or surgery; and (3) perceived timeline for developing cancer (e.g. time left in life to develop cancer). We conclude that key to developing interventions to improve understanding of cancer risk and promoting effective cancer control mechanisms is an understanding of the specific reasons underlying individuals' perceptions of cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Science and Markey Cancer Control Program, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0086, USA. kmkell2@uky.edu
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leventhal
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andrykowski
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Toppmeyer
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Much
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dermody
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marvin
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baran
authors.forename: Marvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwalb
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D018567:Breast Neoplasms, Male / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D019398:Genes, BRCA1; D024522:Genes, BRCA2; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007585:Jews / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors