title: A national survey of genetic counselors' personal values.
abstract: Personal values are motivational sources for an individual's actions [Hitlin and Piliavin (Annual Review of Sociology 30:359-393, 2004)]. Genetic counselors' values may influence their behaviors in clinical practice, but a profile of their personal values has not been identified empirically. In this study, 292 genetic counselors completed the Schwartz Universal Values Questionnaire (SUVQ; Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 1-65). Boston, MA: Academic.), a widely used measure of value types, and provided information about their demographic characteristics. Results indicate that respondents highly valued benevolence, self-direction, achievement, and universalism indicating a strong pattern of concern for the welfare of others. They placed considerably less value on stimulation, tradition, and power, which reflect personal interests. Respondents who reported practicing a religion scored significantly lower on stimulation and hedonism and higher on tradition and spirituality than those not practicing; married respondents and parents scored significantly lower on stimulation and achievement; and males scored higher on power than females. The value types are described, and training and research recommendations are provided.
authors.affiliation: Simmons Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
authors.forename: Sara M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Pirzadeh
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McCarthy Veach
authors.forename: Dianne M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.forename: Juihsien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Bonnie S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Leroy
mesh_terms: D001519:Behavior; D003376:Counseling; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012067:Religion; D012945:Social Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States