Coping With Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer Susceptibility

Bibliographic Data

ID19306566
AuthorsAngela Liegey Dougall (0000-0001-7015-0627, Southwestern Medical Center), Ashley Smith (0009-0003-7101-1591, Northwestern University), Ashley W Smith, Tamara J Somers (0000-0002-8809-2979, Duke University), Donna M Posluszny (0000-0002-5590-0992, Northwestern Medicine), Wendy S Rubinstein (0000-0002-8790-9959, Northwestern University), Andy Baum (0000-0002-9755-6691, National Cancer Institute, corresponding author), Andrew Baum
Year2009
Volume71
Issue1
Pages98-105
Publication date2009-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychosomatic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-3174 • E-ISSN: 1534-7796
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/psy.0b013e318190d7b4
PMID19124622
OpenAlexW2071672090
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited30

OBJECTIVE: To examine how women cope with genetic testing for heightened susceptibility to breast cancer. METHODS: Participants were 126 White women (age = 44 +/- 9 years) who were participants in a larger study of genetic testing for risk of different chronic diseases. All women were at higher-than-average risk for breast cancer due to a personal and/or family history and were considering genetic testing. Distress (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Impact of Event Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale) was assessed at four assessments; one before and three after the decision to have genetic testing. The majority of women (n = 100) had testing. The follow-up assessments occurred at 1 week after receiving results (or 3-4 months after baseline if testing was not elected), and then at 3 and 6 months after the second assessment. Coping (Brief COPE) was measured at the first and third assessments. RESULTS: Coping was relatively stable over time and did not vary as a function of genetic test results. Active coping strategies were used more often by women with a personal cancer history than by women without cancer. Use of avoidant coping was reliably and positively associated with distress over time independent of cancer history and test result. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of specific coping styles that were associated with more or less distress is useful as a means of identifying and targeting coping interventions and predicting which participants may be at risk for distress

Anxiety · Breast cancer · Cancer · Checklist · Coping (psychology) · Distress · Family history · Genetic testing · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Trait · BRCA gene mutations in cancer · Cancer survivorship and care · Clinical Psychology · Family Support in Illness · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Psychology

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