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01-04-2009 | Research Article

Being ‘at-risk’ for developing cancer: cognitive representations and psychological outcomes

Auteurs: Shoshana Shiloh, Erga Drori, Avi Orr-Urtreger, Eitan Friedman

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Behavioral Medicine | Uitgave 2/2009

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.

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Being 'at-risk' for cancer is used throughout this paper as indicating an increased lifetime relative risk for developing the disease compared to the general population, based on a known risk factor.

The concept of risk is likely to relate to a time frame. However, since our measure did not mention the imminence of risk, we assume that participants made their evaluations regarding a lifetime frame.

Another version of the questionnaire asking about causes of cancer in the general population was also administered, but was not used in the study described here.

A perceptive reviewer has justly noted that inferring individual risk status from aggregate statistics is problematic, and that individuals cannot deny something that they have not known.

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Titel: Being ‘at-risk’ for developing cancer: cognitive representations and psychological outcomes
Auteurs: Shoshana Shiloh
Erga Drori
Avi Orr-Urtreger
Eitan Friedman
Publicatiedatum: 01-04-2009
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Behavioral Medicine / Uitgave 2/2009
Print ISSN: 0160-7715
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-3521
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-008-9178-z

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