Genetic testing and psychology: New roles, new responsibilities.

Abstract

Advances in genetics and genetic testing promise to catalyze a fundamental change in the practice of medicine. Psychologists have much to offer as psychotherapists, researchers, educators, and policymakers to a society heavily influenced by the genetic revolution. To make the most of new opportunities available to mental health professionals in genetics, psychologists must know basic genetic principles and learn what is new about 21st-century genetics. The core competencies for all health professionals developed by the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics are related in this article to the significant roles psychologists can play in helping individuals with genetic concerns to cope with vulnerability, optimize family interaction, and improve health behaviors.

The Behavioral Response to Personalized Genetic Information: Will Genetic Risk Profiles Motivate Individuals and Families to Choose More Healthful Behaviors?

“…Methodologies that provide an understanding of the family social structure and how that structure affects and is affected by genetic risk information are needed (64). These methods could enable the flow of shared disease risk information to be tracked as it moves through the network and to understand whether and how common perceptions of a health threat are established (43,78).…”

Maternal Efforts to Prevent Type 1 Diabetes in At-Risk Children

“…Unfortunately, unanswered questions remain regarding the psychosocial impact of genetic screening studies in general (5), and additional concerns have been raised when children are the target of screening (6,7). Studies examining maternal anxiety after notification that a child is at increased risk for type 1 diabetes have documented elevated anxiety immediately after risk notification that decreases over time (8 -12).…”

Risk perception in subjects at-risk for Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy

“…This is in agreement with the statements of Siaki et al (2013), who suggest that risk appraisals are influenced by affect, health-world views, cultural customs, and protocols that intersect with the health risk. The fact that more educated subjects are more informed than the less educated ones may suggest that education can act as a filter of media information, since one of the effects of the media attention, that has undoubtedly accompanied genetics advances, is the increasing anxiety among a wider range of subjects atrisk (Patenaude, Guttmacher, & Collins, 2002). According to Petersen (2001), anxiety about genetic health risks may occur even in people for whom genetic testing or treatment is not yet an option.…”