Uncertainty and perceived personal control among parents of children with rare chromosome conditions: The role of genetic counseling

There is growing recognition that identification with social groups can protect and enhance health and well-being, thereby constituting a kind of “social cure.” The present research explores the role of control as a novel mediator of the relationship between shared group identity and well-being. Five studies provide evidence for this process. Group identification predicted significantly greater perceived personal control across 47 countries (Study 1), and in groups that had experienced success and failure (Study 2). The relationship was observed longitudinally (Study 3) and experimentally (Study 4). Manipulated group identification also buffered a loss of personal control (Study 5). Across the studies, perceived personal control mediated social cure effects in political, academic, community, and national groups. The findings reveal that the personal benefits of social groups come not only from their ability to make people feel good, but also from their ability to make people feel capable and in control of their lives.

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Perceived personal control (PPC): A new concept in measuring outcome of genetic counseling

American Journal of Medical Genetics ◽

10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(19990101)82:1<53::aid-ajmg11>3.0.co;2-# ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 53-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 109

Author(s):

Michal Berkenstadt ◽

Shoshana Shiloh ◽

Gad Barkai ◽

Mariassa Bat-Miriam Katznelson ◽

Bolesslav Goldman

Keyword(s):

Genetic Counseling ◽

Personal Control ◽

Perceived Personal Control

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Effective Communication Message Strategy for Enhancing Traffic Safety in Fresno County: The Role of Time Horizon, Regulatory Focus, and Perceived Personal Control

10.31979/mti.2020.1908 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Samer Sarofirm

Keyword(s):

Traffic Safety ◽

Regulatory Focus ◽

Time Horizon ◽

Effective Communication ◽

Personal Control ◽

Fresno County ◽

Message Strategy ◽

Perceived Personal Control

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The Role of Personal Control in Adaptive Functioning

The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195187243.013.0025 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 270-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Suzanne C. Thompson

Keyword(s):

Ethnic Differences ◽

Perceived Control ◽

Adaptive Functioning ◽

Coping Skills ◽

Personal Control ◽

Future Research ◽

Sense Of Control ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Controllable Factors

A sense of personal control is an important resource that helps people maintain emotional stability and successfully negotiate their way through life. People foster their perceived control by focusing on reachable goals, creating new avenues for control, and accepting difficult-to-change circumstances. In general, perceived control need not be realistic in order to have beneficial effects, although in the area of health promotion, overestimating one's control can reduce the motivation to engage in protection. Research on ethnic differences in the benefits of a sense of personal control suggests that those from more collectivistic cultures or subcultures may be less benefited by a sense of personal control, relying instead on a socially derived sense of control. Successful interventions to enhance personal control include programs that bolster coping skills, give options and decisions to participants, and provide training that encourages attributions to controllable factors. Future research should further explore ethnic differences in the effects of personal control, the consequences of unrealistic control perceptions, and interventions to enhance the sense of control.

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The role of psychosocial factors in Black women's self‐efficacy in receiving genetic counseling and testing

Journal of Genetic Counseling ◽

10.1002/jgc4.1439 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Huanghe Ding ◽

Arnethea L. Sutton ◽

Alejandra Hurtado‐de‐Mendoza ◽

Vanessa B. Sheppard

Keyword(s):

Genetic Counseling ◽

Psychosocial Factors ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Counseling And Testing

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Social Comparison for Concern and Action on Climate Change, Racial Injustice, and COVID-19

10.31234/osf.io/6j2zq ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Virginia Ulichney ◽

Johanna Jarcho ◽

Thomas Shipley ◽

joy ham ◽

Chelsea Helion

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Social Comparison ◽

Social Issues ◽

Personal Control ◽

Personal Concern ◽

Racial Injustice ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

Perceived Personal Control

Preventing the negative impacts of major, intersectional U.S. social issues hinges on personal concern and willingness to take action. We examined social comparison of COVID-19, racial injustice, and climate change during Fall 2020. Participants in a U.S. university sample (n = 288), reported personal levels of concern and action taken on these issues, and estimated their peers’ concern and action. Participants accurately estimated similar levels of personal and peer concern for racial injustice and climate change, but overestimated peer concern for COVID-19. At higher personal concern levels, people estimated that they took greater action than peers for all issues. Exploratory analyses found that perceived personal control over social issues increased participants’ concern and action for racial injustice and climate change, but yielded no change for COVID-19. This suggests that issue-specific features, including perceived controllability, may drive people to differently assess their experience of distinct social issues relative to peers.

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Predictors of risk-reducing surgery intentions following genetic counseling for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

Translational Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/tbm/iby101 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 337-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mary Kathleen Ladd ◽

Beth N Peshkin ◽

Leigha Senter ◽

Shari Baldinger ◽

Claudine Isaacs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Genetic Counseling ◽

Cancer Risk ◽

Prophylactic Surgery ◽

Ovarian Cancer Risk ◽

Breast And Ovarian Cancer ◽

Affective Factors ◽

Risk Reducing

Abstract Risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) and salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) are increasingly used to reduce breast and ovarian cancer risk following BRCA1/BRCA2 testing. However, little is known about how genetic counseling influences decisions about these surgeries. Although previous studies have examined intentions prior to counseling, few have examined RRM and RRSO intentions in the critical window between genetic counseling and test result disclosure. Previous research has indicated that intentions at this time point predict subsequent uptake of surgery, suggesting that much decision-making has taken place prior to result disclosure. This period may be a critical time to better understand the drivers of prophylactic surgery intentions. The aim of this study was to examine predictors of RRM and RRSO intentions. We hypothesized that variables from the Health Belief Model would predict intentions, and we also examined the role of affective factors. Participants were 187 women, age 21–75, who received genetic counseling for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. We utilized multiple logistic regression to identify independent predictors of intentions. 49.2% and 61.3% of participants reported intentions for RRM and RRSO, respectively. Variables associated with RRM intentions include: newly diagnosed with breast cancer (OR = 3.63, 95% CI = 1.20–11.04), perceived breast cancer risk (OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.17–1.81), perceived pros (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.38–2.32) and cons of RRM (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.65–0.996), and decision conflict (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.66–0.98). Variables associated with RRSO intentions include: proband status (OR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.09–0.89), perceived pros (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.11–1.63) and cons of RRSO (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.59–0.89), and ambiguity aversion (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.65–0.95). These data provide support for the role of genetic counseling in fostering informed decisions about risk management, and suggest that the role of uncertainty should be explored further.

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