People with the greatest need to change their behaviors are more likely to favor genetic explanations for their diseases and the more behavioral risk factors they have, the less likely they are to be interested in behavior change information, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s National Human Genome Institute. The study, published online in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine, finds that potential misinterpretation of genetic information could undermine public health efforts to promote behavioral changes needed to improve public health and prevent disease.

 

In order to identify the link between family history, behavioral risks and causal attributions for diseases and the perceived value of pursuing information emphasizing health habits or genes, the authors asked nearly 2,000 healthy American adults to complete a survey. The survey assessed the participants’ behavioral risk factors (physical activity, dietary habits, smoking, alcohol consumption, sun exposure, multivitamin use and body mass index), family history, causal attributions for eight largely preventable diseases (diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, lung, colon and skin cancers), and their preferences for one type of health information over another.

 

They found that the majority of participants recognized that health behaviors were more likely to cause ill-health than genetics. On the whole, they were more interested in behavioral health information than in genetic information to understand what affects their chances of getting certain conditions. However, as the number of behavioral risk factors increased, inclination to favor genetic explanations also increased.

 

“Our findings highlight that, although most did not over-ascribe common health conditions to genetics or hold defensively biased causal attributions that would inhibit needed behavior change,” the researchers say, “those with the greatest need for behavior change are at most risk for responding defensively and devaluing behavior change information.”

 

They suggest one possible explanation for this is that participants in the study who were behaviorally at-risk may have prior experience seeking and applying standard behavioral advice without success. As a result, they say, these individuals may see less value in this information.