UC Irvine

Major goals of genetic counseling include promoting psychological well-being while educating patients about birth defects and genetic disorders, facilitating empowered health care choices. Perceived Personal Control (PPC) is an established measure of the benefit of genetic counseling. The primary purpose of this study was to examine change in PPC, trait hope, and coping following genetic counseling. A secondary purpose was to determine how trait hope and coping styles (Brief COPE) might moderate PPC in the setting of genetic counseling. Pre-and post-surveys were completed by 59 individuals who were either a patient or a loved one attending an initial genetic counseling session. The intervention was an hour-long initial genetic counseling session in the prenatal, cancer setting, or general genetics setting. Results showed that PPC is significantly increased after genetic counseling (p<0.001). Although trait hope and coping did not significantly moderate change in PPC, individuals with higher pre-test trait hope achieved bigger gains in PPC than those with lower hope (p=0.16); and those with lower pre-test coping scores (either adaptive or maladaptive) achieved bigger gains in PPC than those with higher coping skills (p=0.29). However, the study was underpowered to detect significant moderator effects. These findings may encourage more research into the interaction between health behaviors and psychological health in improving the outcome of genetic counseling. Patients with the lowest coping and psychological skills may have the most to gain from the genetic counseling session. It will be valuable for counselors to be aware of this relationship.