Lay Attitudes toward Genetic Testing for Susceptibility to Inherited Diseases

• Published in: Journal of health psychology Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 405 - 423
• Main Authors: Shaw, John S., Bassi, Kimberly L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi SAGE Publications 01.07.2001; Sage
• Subjects: Attitudes; Biological and medical sciences; Diseases; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic screening; Illness and personality; Lay people; Pennsylvania; Personality, behavior and health; Psychology and medicine; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Susceptibility; USA; United States; North America; America; lay attitudes; genetic screening; genetic testing; Social environment; Human; Clinical test; Disease; Attitude; Therapeutical request; Prediction; Mental health; Vulnerability; Genetic determinism; Genetic disease; Survey; Genetics; Typology; Comparative study; Public health; Somatic disease
• ISSN: 1359-1053; 1461-7277
• DOI: 10.1177/135910530100600404

One of the most important issues facing legal and medical policy makers in the coming years will be whether to employ populationbased testing for genetic markers of inherited diseases. Two hundred and twenty-six randomly selected individuals from Easton, Pennsylvania completed a mail questionnaire that was designed to assess the general public’s attitudes toward many of the personal and societal issues surrounding genetic testing for disease susceptibility. Respondents were generally optimistic about the potential benefits of genetic testing, and their attitudes about genetic testing were associated with their personal interest in getting a genetic test. Respondents were more likely to be interested in undergoing genetic testing for disease susceptibility if they might have some control over the targeted disease (i.e. there was a cure) and if the test was highly predictive of their chances of developing the disease. Respondents were wary of granting access to genetic testing results to anyone other than doctors and family members, and they did not want the government, religious leaders, or the courts involved in regulating genetic testing. These results have important implications for psychologists, genetic scientists, bioethicists, and legal scholars who are grappling with the many issues related to population-based genetic testing for inherited diseases.