title: Being 'at-risk' for developing cancer: cognitive representations and psychological outcomes.
abstract: This study investigated cognitive representations and psychological effects of being 'at-risk' for cancer. Perceived personal risk for cancer and causal attributions for cancer were measured in four groups: women identified as carriers of mutations in breast/ovarian cancer genes BRCA1 BRCA2, habitual smokers, X-ray technicians, and an average-risk group. Despite differences in awareness of their risk status and perceived risk for cancer, the groups did not differ in health anxiety, cancer worry interference, and self-assessed health. Motivated reasoning processes were identified as potential strategies used by individuals at-risk to regulate levels of psychological distress. Evidence for biased risk perceptions and unrealistic optimism were found among smokers, and patterns indicative of self-enhancement through self-assessments and defensive discounting of cancer causal attributions were found in the genetically susceptible group. These findings highlight the role of cognitive representations in adjustment to being at-risk for cancer.
authors.affiliation: Tel Aviv University, Israel. shoshi@freud.tau.ac.il
authors.forename: Shoshana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shiloh
authors.forename: Erga
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Drori
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orr-Urtreger
authors.forename: Eitan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001007:Anxiety; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D019398:Genes, BRCA1; D024522:Genes, BRCA2; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires