title: Health Orientation, Knowledge, and Attitudes toward Genetic Testing and Personalized Genomic Services: Preliminary Data from an Italian Sample.
abstract: Objective. The study aims at assessing personality tendencies and orientations that could be closely correlated with knowledge, awareness, and interest toward undergoing genetic testing.Methods.A sample of 145 subjects in Italy completed an online survey, investigating demographic data, health orientation, level of perceived knowledge about genetic risk, genetic screening, and personal attitudes toward direct to consumer genetic testing (DTCGT).Results. Results showed that respondents considered genetic assessment to be helpful for disease prevention, but they were concerned that results could affect their life planning with little clinical utility. Furthermore, a very high percentage of respondents (67%) had never heard about genetic testing directly available to the public. Data showed that personality tendencies, such as personal health consciousness, health internal control, health esteem, and confidence, motivation to avoid unhealthiness and motivation for healthiness affected the uptake of genetic information and the interest in undergoing genetic testing.Conclusions. Public knowledge and attitudes toward genetic risk and genetic testing among European countries, along with individual personality and psychological tendencies that could affect these attitudes, remain unexplored. The present study constitutes one of the first attempts to investigate how such personality tendencies could motivation to undergo genetic testing and engagement in lifestyle changes.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Research Center on Decision Making Processes (IRIDe), Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology (DIPO), University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy; Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO), Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7185-4260
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oliveri
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Research Center on Decision Making Processes (IRIDe), Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology (DIPO), University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy; Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO), Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4718-5554
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masiero
authors.affiliation: Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO), Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arnaboldi
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Research Center on Decision Making Processes (IRIDe), Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology (DIPO), University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cutica
authors.affiliation: Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO), Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fioretti
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Research Center on Decision Making Processes (IRIDe), Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology (DIPO), University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy; Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO), Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9135-2938
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pravettoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology