ATTRIBUTIONS FOR DISABILITY - THE INFLUENCE OF GENETIC SCREENING

There is currently much debate on how the widespread availability of p renatal testing for fetal abnormalities influences attributions for th e birth of children with disabilities. The aim of the current study is to determine how the birth of a child with Down syndrome is explained when information is provided on whether the mother underwent testing in pregnancy, and the reasons for that. Using a between subjects desig n, four groups (pregnant women, general samples of men and women, gene ticists and obstetricians) from three EC countries (Germany, Portugal and the U.K.) completed one of two vignettes. The vignettes described a mother giving birth to a child with Down syndrome, in one, following her decline of the offer of testing, in the other, following no offer of test from the hospital. Subjects rated the mother's perceived cont rol over the outcome, the extent to which she was to blame, and the ex tent to which health professionals might be to blame. In all three cou ntries and for all study groups, screening history of the mother was t he single most important factor influencing attributions of control an d blame following the birth of a child with Down syndrome. A mother wh o declined the offer of testing was seen as having control over this o utcome, and was in part blamed for it. The results of this study sugge st that both health professionals and lay groups make judgments about women's roles in the birth of children with disabilities. These findin gs require replication in studies assessing attributions rated from sp ontaneous speech, of people with personal and professional experiences of the births of children with disabilities. If replicated, the conse quences of these attributions for health professionals in helping fami lies and adjustment in these families, needs to be considered.