title: Reducing, Maintaining, or Escalating Uncertainty? The Development and Validation of Four Uncertainty Preference Scales Related to Cancer Information Seeking and Avoidance.
abstract: Uncertainty is a central characteristic of many aspects of cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Brashers's (2001) uncertainty management theory details the multifaceted nature of uncertainty and describes situations in which uncertainty can both positively and negatively affect health outcomes. The current study extends theory on uncertainty management by developing four scale measures of uncertainty preferences in the context of cancer. Two national surveys were conducted to validate the scales and assess convergent and concurrent validity. Results support the factor structure of each measure and provide general support across multiple validity assessments. These scales can advance research on uncertainty and cancer communication by providing researchers with measures that address multiple aspects of uncertainty management.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Studies , University of Miami , Coral Gables , Florida , USA.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Carcioppolo
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Studies , University of Miami , Coral Gables , Florida , USA.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: b Annenberg School of Communication , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA.
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D054626:Consumer Health Information; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000523:psychology*; D011582:Psychological Theory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035501:Uncertainty; D014481:United States