Couple agreement before and after genetic counseling

Area of Science:

• Medical Genetics
• Psychology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Genetic counseling is sought by couples with diverse concerns and reproductive goals.
• Spousal concordance on reproductive plans and risk perception is crucial for effective genetic counseling outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess pre- and post-counseling spousal agreement on major reasons for seeking genetic counseling, reproductive plans, and perceived risks.
• To evaluate the impact of genetic counseling on improving spousal concordance.

Main Methods:

• Administered identical questionnaires to 699 couples before and after genetic counseling.
• Assessed agreement on reasons for counseling, short-term and long-term reproductive plans, ideal number of children, perceived risk, and seriousness of potential problems.

Main Results:

• Before counseling, significant spousal disagreement existed regarding reasons for seeking help (55%), ideal number of children (40%), and risk perception (56%).
• Post-counseling, agreement improved for short-term plans (76%), longer-term plans (66%), and ideal number of children (60%), with statistically significant increases in risk interpretation and agreement on six potential problems.
• However, overall spousal disagreement persisted, with post-counseling agreement levels often similar to pre-counseling levels for several key issues.

Conclusions:

• Couples present to genetic counseling with substantial variation in concerns and reproductive intentions.
• Genetic counseling demonstrates a limited ability to significantly enhance spousal agreement on reproductive plans and risk perception.
• Counseling strategies may need refinement to address and reconcile differing spousal perspectives more effectively.