Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Hereditary melanoma and predictive genetic testing: why not?

S R Riedijk¹, F A de Snoo, S van Dijk

¹Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical Centre, The Netherlands. s.riedijk@erasmusmc.nl

Psycho-Oncology

|March 4, 2005

Summary

Understanding reluctance in hereditary melanoma genetic testing is key. Both emotional and rational motivations influence decisions, with rational participants being better informed about risks.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Developing prognostic models that predict onset and progression rates in genetic neurodegenerative diseases: perspectives of healthcare professionals in genetic counselling.

Orphanet journal of rare diseases·2026

Same author

Exploring mutation carriers' preferences regarding onset and progression of disease predictions for adult-onset genetic neurodegenerative diseases: a qualitative interview study.

Human genetics·2025

Same author

Andersen-Tawil syndrome: Overlapping clinical features with Noonan syndrome?

European journal of medical genetics·2021

Same author

'We Should View Him as an Individual': The Role of the Child's Future Autonomy in Shared Decision-Making About Unsolicited Findings in Pediatric Exome Sequencing.

Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy·2021

Same author

Development, behaviour and sensory processing in Marshall-Smith syndrome and Malan syndrome: phenotype comparison in two related syndromes.

Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR·2020

Same author

Meta-analysis of the effects of on-farm management strategies on milk yields of dairy cattle on smallholder farms in the Tropics.

Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience·2020

Area of Science:

Genetics
Medical Psychology

Background:

Presymptomatic genetic testing for hereditary melanoma (p16-Leiden) is available in the Netherlands.
Evaluating the benefits and risks of genetic testing is crucial.
This study investigates reasons for non-participation in genetic testing.

Purpose of the Study:

To understand the motivations behind non-participation in hereditary melanoma genetic testing.
To identify factors influencing decisions regarding genetic risk assessment.
To inform strategies for improving informed decision-making in genetic testing.

Main Methods:

A self-report questionnaire was administered to 66 individuals who were eligible but had not participated in genetic testing.
The questionnaire assessed motivation, anxiety, family dynamics, risk knowledge, and causal attributions.

Related Experiment Videos

Principal components analysis was used to identify underlying motives for non-participation.

Main Results:

Non-participants reported low levels of anxiety.
Two primary motivations for non-participation were identified: emotional and rational.
Rational motivation correlated with accurate risk knowledge and lower anxiety, while emotional motivation was linked to misperceptions, communication concerns, and higher anxiety.

Conclusions:

Both rational and emotional factors influence decisions about hereditary melanoma genetic testing.
Individuals with emotional motivations may be hesitant to share genetic risk information.
Rationally motivated individuals demonstrated better risk understanding, suggesting a need for enhanced informational materials to support informed choices.