Abstract
As men age, they are faced with many health-related decisions. One particular area of focus is prostate cancer, since it is the most common type of cancer in men in the United States and it is highly curable if detected early. Although there is currently no genetic test for prostate cancer risk, its development is in progress, and multiple genes are implicated in the onset and progression of the disease. Since genetic testing may someday be used to tailor cancer prevention based on an individual’s genotype, there is a need to better understand men’s interest in testing for prostate cancer susceptibility. A fuller understanding of this decision-making process may help increase participation in screening behaviors and thereby increase early detection and survival. The present study investigated the roles played by patient characteristics, health related quality of life, beliefs about benefits, concerns about consequences, and family/social influences on men’s intentions to undergo genetic testing as a preventive measure for prostate cancer. This study proposed that men’s stated intention to undergo genetic testing for prostate cancer would be primarily distally related to sociodemographic characteristics and proximally related to beliefs, concerns, and influence. Structural Equation Modeling was performed in order to provide an intricate conceptual and explanatory framework describing how intention can be predicted by testing the intercorrelations, and both direct and indirect effects of the variables. The overall predictions were generally supported by the analysis. Demographic characteristics such as income, age, and education, and health related quality of life were distally related to intention and they were mediated by beliefs in benefits, concerns, and commitment to one’s decision/tendency to resist influence by social network. Men’s level of commitment to their decision was found to have the strongest influence on intention to test in the current model. In addition, family history was not found to significantly influence intent, concerns, or benefits, all of which were originally hypothesized.Results suggest several implications for the informed consent process including the use of a psychoeducational model incorporating information about risks and benefits of testing. Limitations and future directions are discussed.%%%%Ph.D., Clinical Psychology – Drexel University, 2004
Published Version
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