Differing Effects of Mass and Interpersonal Communication on Breast Cancer Risk Estimates: An Exploratory Study of College Students and Their Mothers

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that women tend to overestimate the percentage of all breast cancers that result from genetic predispositions, and this article examines the knowledge of college students, as well as their mothers, on this subject, applying uncertainty management (Brashers, 2001) as the theoretical framework. The authors build on the literature by studying (a) the types of media outlets college students and their mothers use for securing information, and (b) the types of articles and programs within those outlets that may affect risk perceptions. The authors also address associations between these mass communication measures and interpersonal sources of information in the context of risk estimation. Respondents exposed to media reports about the role of genetics in breast cancer, in addition to study participants who had discussed this role within the family, tended to overestimate measures of genetic risk. Conversely, those who had attended to media reports about screening practices tended to offer lower risk estimates, indicating that such reports may have positioned genetics as just one factor in the overall equation of breast cancer risk. The authors discuss the implications of these and other findings for communication scholars and health practitioners.

The Augmented Cognitive Mediation Model: Examining Antecedents of Factual and Structural Breast Cancer Knowledge Among Singaporean Women

“…This, known as interpersonal communication, is conceptualized as individuals discussing relevant content with their network, such as family, friends, colleagues, or even health care providers ( Interpersonal communication was an important inclusion to the CMM in explaining knowledge acquisition . As breast cancer is a deeply personal health issue, women with a high risk perception tend to engage in more breast cancer-related discussions with people in their networks (Jones, Denham, & Springston, 2007;Morton & Duck, 2001) either for more information from health care providers (Yanovitzky & Blitz, 2000) or for social and emotional support (Taleghani, Yekta, & Nasrabadi, 2006). We postulate the following hypotheses with regard to risk perception, media attention, and interpersonal communication:…”

“…Likewise, we also found a positive relationship between risk perception and interpersonal communication. Risk perception may motivate women to seek out information from media sources and communicate with people in their interpersonal networks, either for medical information from health practitioners or social support from family and friends (Jones et al, 2007;Yanovitzky & Blitz, 2000).…”

Towards Prevention of Breast Cancer: What Are the Clinical Challenges?

“…Providers who counsel women about their breast cancer risk should be sensitive to several beliefs that may affect their interpretation of risk estimates, such as lay illness beliefs about breast cancer (82), degree of trust and source of information (83) and fatalistic beliefs (84). Perhaps more importantly is that these and other factors may shape emotional reactions to the risk information and discussions of intervention.…”

Concern as Motivation for Protection: An Investigation of Mothers' Concern About Daughters' Breast Cancer Risk

“…Additionally, mothers are a significant source of emotional, instrumental, and informational support in a breast cancer context (Oktay & Walkter, 1991). In fact, Jones, Denham and Springston (2007) report that discussing breast cancer with mothers was associated with increased frequency of breast self-examinations later in life. Previous research has demonstrated that adolescent girls are influenced by their mothers’ health behaviors (Birch & Fisher, 2000; Cutting, Fisher, Grimm-Thomas, & Birch, 2007; Hill, Weaver, & Blundell, 1990), and that mothers are concerned about their daughter’s breast cancer risk (Silk et al, 2006).…”