United States Public Knowledge and Attitudes About Genetic Testing, 2000

The primary goal of this national survey was to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding genetic testing in humans. The survey gauged respondents' knowledge of which genetic defects can be detected by the prenatal testing of a fetus, whether genetic testing can predict heart attacks or detect a tendency to develop depression and certain types of cancer, and whether gene therapy can be used to correct many of the defects discovered through gene testing. Attitudes toward prenatal genetic testing were examined, including preferences for abortion in case of fetal defect, as well as attitudes toward genetic testing of adults, genetic testing in the workplace, and other aspects of genetic testing. Respondents reported whether they or their partner ever had a prenatal genetic test or received counseling for a prenatal test, their reasons for deciding to have or not have a test, and whether anything happened to the pregnancy as result of a test, e.g., abortion. In addition, respondents were asked if they ever had themselves tested for a genetic disease or received counseling for such tests, for which conditions they were tested, whether they tested positive or negative, with whom they shared the test results, and whether they lost a job, lost health or life insurance, or had their insurance premiums increased as a result of being tested. Sources of information for news about science or health, trust in doctors to keep medical information private, and confidence in the people running the government and corporations that make and sell genetic tests constitute some of the other topics covered by the survey. Background variables include sex, age, race, Hispanic origin, employment status, union membership, religious preference, religiosity, disability status and type of disability, health insurance coverage, state and geographic region of residence, income, and education.