A brief assessment of concerns associated with genetic testing for cancer: The Multidimensional Impact of Cancer Risk Assessment (MICRA) questionnaire

David Cella*, Chanita Hughes, Amy Peterman, Chih Hung Chang, Beth N. Peshkin, Marc D. Schwartz, Lari Wenzel, Amy Lemke, Alfred C. Marcus, Caryn Lerman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

237 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Multidimensional Impact of Cancer Risk Assessment (MICRA) is a new tool to measure the specific impact of result disclosure after genetic testing. The authors compared its performance with that of questionnaires measuring general and cancer-specific distress. Participants (158 women) responded 1 month after they received genetic test results. The women were divided into 4 standard clinical test result groups: BRCA1/2 positive, BRCA1/2 negative, panel negative, and true negative. Factor analysis supported the formation of 3 subscales: Distress (6 items, α = .86), Uncertainty (9 items, α = .77), and Positive Experiences (4 items, α = .75). All 3 MICRA subscales differentiated participants who were BRCA 1/2 positive from the other 3 groups. MICRA thus helps identify subgroups of vulnerable genetic testing participants.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)564-572
Number of pages9
JournalHealth Psychology
Volume21
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2002

Keywords

  • Cancer genetics
  • Cancer risk assessment
  • Genetic testing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Applied Psychology

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