The effects of social demand on breast self-examination self-report

The measurement of breast self-examination (BSE) adherence typically relies on verbal self-report. These studies systematically manipulated social demand within a face-to-face interview and examined the effects on self-reported BSE frequency. In Study 1, subjects (n = 37) received either a high-demand or a low-demand preface prior to being asked about BSE practice over the past year. Study 2 (n = 89) was a replication, with the addition of a no-preface (control) condition. Results from Study 1 indicated that although the conditions were comparable on demographic and breast cancer/BSE knowledge variables, the high-demand condition reported a significantly higher number of BSEs than the low-demand condition. An attenuation of this pattern was found in Study 2, with the control condition reporting a frequency between the low demand's and the high demand's reported frequencies. The implications for BSE intervention and prevalence research are discussed.