What Is the Relationship Between Breast Cancer Risk and Mammography Screening? A Meta-Analytic Review.
McCaul, Kevin D. 1,2; Branstetter, Ann Dyche 1; Schroeder, Dawn M. 1; Glasgow, Russell E. 2
[Article] Health Psychology. 15(6):423-429, November 1996.

(Format: HTML, PDF)

This meta-analytic review addresses the issue of how a woman's risk of breast cancer relates to the likelihood that she will obtain mammography screenings. Studies that compared women with or without a family history of breast cancer (n = 19) showed that women with a family history were more likely to have been screened. Studies that measured perceived risk (n = 19) showed that feeling vulnerable to breast cancer was positively related to having obtained a screening. Studies that compared women who did or did not have a history of breast problems (n = 10) showed that those with a positive history were more likely to have been screened. Finally, studies that measured worry (n = 6) showed that greater worry was related to higher screening levels. Taken together, these data suggest that increasing perceptions of personal vulnerability may increase screening behavior for breast cancer.

(C) 1996 by the American Psychological Association