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Why does genetic causal information alter perceived treatment effectiveness? An analogue study
Alison J Wright1, Stephen R Sutton, Matthew Hankins
1Department of Primary Care & Public Health Sciences, King's College London, UK. alison.wright@kcl.ac.uk
British Journal of Health Psychology
|November 24, 2011
Summary
Believing a health issue has genetic roots impacts treatment views. Genetic information affects how people perceive medication and non-drug therapy effectiveness, mediated by control beliefs, but effects are small.
Area of Science:
- Health Psychology
- Behavioral Medicine
- Genetics and Health
Background:
- Perceived genetic causes of health problems can influence treatment expectations.
- Understanding mediators like causal attributions and perceived control is crucial.
- Previous research suggests a link between genetic attributions and treatment effectiveness perceptions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate how genetic causal information affects perceived treatment effectiveness.
- To identify specific beliefs (causal attributions, perceived control, severity) that mediate this effect.
Main Methods:
- A between-subjects experimental design with 647 adults.
- Participants were randomly assigned to read vignettes detailing different causes (environmental, genetic) and severity levels for heart disease, obesity, or depression.
- Assessed perceived effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, alongside mediators like causal attributions and perceived control.
Main Results:
- For heart disease, genetic causes decreased perceived non-pharmacological treatment effectiveness, mediated by attributions and control.
- For depression, genetic causes increased perceived medication effectiveness in severe cases, mediated by control.
- No significant effects of cause or severity were found for obesity treatment perceptions.
Conclusions:
- The influence of genetic information on perceived treatment effectiveness is disease-specific.
- Causal attributions and perceived control are key mediators when effects are observed.
- Observed effects are generally small and may not lead to significant changes in health behaviors.
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