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Why some women have an optimistic or a pessimistic bias about their breast cancer risk: Experiences, heuristics, and knowledge of risk factors

Publication ,  Journal Article
Katapodi, MC; Dodd, MJ; Facione, NC; Humphreys, JC; Lee, KA
Published in: Cancer Nursing
2010

Perceived risk to a health problem is formed by inferential rules called heuristics and by comparative judgments that assess how one's risk compares to the risk of others. The purpose of this cross-sectional, community-based survey was to examine how experiences with breast cancer, knowledge of risk factors, and specific heuristics inform risk judgments for oneself, for friends/peers, and comparative judgments for breast cancer (risk friends/peers - risk self). We recruited an English-speaking, multicultural (57% nonwhite) sample of 184 middle-aged (47 ± 12 years old), well-educated women. Fifty percent of participants perceived that their breast cancer risk was the same as the risk of their friends/peers; 10% were pessimistic (risk friends/peers - risk self < 0), whereas 40% were optimistic (risk friends/peers - risk self > 0). Family history of breast cancer and worry informed risk judgments for oneself. The availability and cultural heuristics specific for black women informed risk judgments for friends/peers. Knowledge of risk factors and interactions of knowledge with the availability, representativeness, and simulation heuristics informed comparative judgments (risk friends/peers - risk self). We discuss cognitive mechanisms with which experiences, knowledge, and heuristics influence comparative breast cancer risk judgments. Risk communication interventions should assess knowledge deficits, contextual variables, and specific heuristics that activate differential information processing mechanisms. © 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

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Published In

Cancer Nursing

DOI

ISSN

0162-220X

Publication Date

2010

Volume

33

Issue

1

Start / End Page

64 / 73

Related Subject Headings

  • Statistics as Topic
  • Risk Factors
  • Risk Assessment
  • Regression Analysis
  • Psychometrics
  • Perception
  • Nursing
  • Middle Aged
  • Humans
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
 

Citation

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Katapodi, M. C., Dodd, M. J., Facione, N. C., Humphreys, J. C., & Lee, K. A. (2010). Why some women have an optimistic or a pessimistic bias about their breast cancer risk: Experiences, heuristics, and knowledge of risk factors. Cancer Nursing, 33(1), 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.0b013e3181b430f9
Katapodi, M. C., M. J. Dodd, N. C. Facione, J. C. Humphreys, and K. A. Lee. “Why some women have an optimistic or a pessimistic bias about their breast cancer risk: Experiences, heuristics, and knowledge of risk factors.” Cancer Nursing 33, no. 1 (2010): 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.0b013e3181b430f9.
Katapodi, M. C., et al. “Why some women have an optimistic or a pessimistic bias about their breast cancer risk: Experiences, heuristics, and knowledge of risk factors.” Cancer Nursing, vol. 33, no. 1, 2010, pp. 64–73. Manual, doi:10.1097/NCC.0b013e3181b430f9.

Published In

Cancer Nursing

DOI

ISSN

0162-220X

Publication Date

2010

Volume

33

Issue

1

Start / End Page

64 / 73

Related Subject Headings

  • Statistics as Topic
  • Risk Factors
  • Risk Assessment
  • Regression Analysis
  • Psychometrics
  • Perception
  • Nursing
  • Middle Aged
  • Humans
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice