WHO WILL ATTEND TESTS FOR THE EARLY DETECTION OF BREAST-CANCER

The purpose was to construct a questionnaire for predicting which wome n would undergo screening for the early detection of breast cancer. Th e study was done in the theoretical framework of the cognitive orienta tion (CO) theory (Kreitler & Kreitler, 1976) that shows how cognitive contents guide behaviors. A CO questionnaire assessing beliefs of four types (about goals, norms, self and general beliefs) and an informati onal questionnaire were administered to five samples of 619 women diff ering in age, occupation, residential location and screening condition s. Discriminant analyses showed that the CO questionnaire provided sig nificant predictions of physician-performed screening, regularity of s creening, whether it was self-initiated or not, and breast self-examin ation. Predictions were not improved by including genetic risk for can cer. Women who attend for screening have beliefs supporting, for examp le, optimism, realism, emotional control, projecting good impression, and readiness to face problems. The implications of the study focus on the motivational dynamics of undergoing screening and the related per sonality profile, and on the possibility of modifying the relevant bel iefs in order to increase uptake of screening.