Avoiding Risk Information About Breast Cancer

Overview

Journal Ann Behav Med

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Social Sciences

Date 2012 Jun 29

PMID 22740364

Citations 18

Authors

Darya Melnyk

James A Shepperd

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Learning about personal risk can provide numerous benefits yet people sometimes opt to remain ignorant.

Purpose: Two studies examined the role of perceived control, coping resources, and anticipated regret in women's decision to avoid breast cancer risk information.

Methods: Women completed a health inventory and then read a brochure about either controllable or uncontrollable predictors of breast cancer, or received no brochure. Participants then received an opportunity to learn their lifetime risk for breast cancer based on their inventory responses.

Results: Reading about controllable predictors of breast cancer reduced avoidance of risk information compared with reading about uncontrollable predictors or receiving no information. In addition, fewer coping resources, anticipated greater regret over seeking breast cancer risk information, and less regret over avoiding breast cancer risk information predicted information avoidance.

Conclusion: Reading about controllable predictors of breast cancer reduces avoidance of breast cancer risk information.

Citing Articles

A model for predicting factors affecting health information avoidance on WeChat.

Chen M, Huang X, Wu Y, Song S, Qi X Digit Health. 2025; 11:20552076251314277.

PMID: 39959657 PMC: 11826881. DOI: 10.1177/20552076251314277.

Emotional responses to COVID-19 stressors increase information avoidance about an important unrelated health threat.

Gustafson C, Brooks K, Meerza S, Yiannaka A PLoS One. 2023; 18(9):e0286712.

PMID: 37708142 PMC: 10501669. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286712.

Research on the Process and Influencing Factors of Online Diabetes Information Users' Avoidance Behavior: A Qualitative Study.

Guo C, Si L, Sun Y Behav Sci (Basel). 2023; 13(3).

PMID: 36975292 PMC: 10045335. DOI: 10.3390/bs13030267.

What Causes Health Information Avoidance Behavior under Normalized COVID-19 Pandemic? A Research from Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis.

Ding Q, Gu Y, Zhang G, Li X, Zhao Q, Gu D Healthcare (Basel). 2022; 10(8).

PMID: 35893203 PMC: 9331662. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10081381.

Developing a framework for understanding health information behavior change from avoidance to acquisition: a grounded theory exploration.

Sun H, Li J, Cheng Y, Pan X, Shen L, Hua W BMC Public Health. 2022; 22(1):1115.

PMID: 35658937 PMC: 9166210. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13522-0.