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Illness Representations, Self-Regulation, and Genetic Counseling: A Theoretical Review

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  • Published:
Journal of Genetic Counseling

In this article the Self Regulatory Theory (Leventhal, 1970; Leventhan H., Benyamini, Brownlee, Diefenbach, Leventhal E.A., Patrick-Miller, & Robitaille, 1997) is presented as a framework for conceptualizing genetic counseling. Findings published in the genetic counseling literature are re-interpreted from the perspective of the theory. Clients are seen as active information processors rather than passive receivers of information. Research related to clients’ representations of genetic causality of disease and specific genetic conditions is reviewed. Associations of genetic illness representations to self representations, coping and health behaviors are examined, and suggestions are made for applications of the theory in research and clinical practice.

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Notes

  1. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease in which a defective gene causes the body to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and obstruct the pancreas, leading to life threatening lung infections and digestive problems.

  2. Apolipoprotein E gene (APOE). The inheritance of the epsilon 4 allele of the APOE gene is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

  3. Engagement is defined as the degree of cognitive and emotional involvement with one's increased risk of developing cancer as a result of one's family history (McAllister, 2003).

  4. Approximately 5% of colorectal cancers can be attributed to hereditary alterations in one of several genes, and an additional 10% to 15% may be due to inherited susceptibility to unidentified hereditary gene alterations.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health. I would like to thank Barbara Biesecker Laura Koehly, Donald Hadley, and two anonymous reviewers for their excellent comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Shoshana Shiloh

  2. National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, 2 Center Drive, Bldg. 2, Room 4E16, MSC 0249, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Shoshana Shiloh

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Shiloh, S. Illness Representations, Self-Regulation, and Genetic Counseling: A Theoretical Review. J Genet Counsel 15, 325–337 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-006-9044-5

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