Naive beliefs about breast cancer risk.

We examined the beliefs women have about their risk of breast cancer. Participants were 86 women, ages 18 to 90, with and without a family history of breast cancer. They were interviewed individually about their risk and their beliefs about risk factors for breast cancer. The results showed that participants form their risk estimates primarily from the absence or presence of a family history of breast cancer. When asked to compare their risk with the risk of others, only participants without a family history viewed their chances of getting breast cancer as lower than the chances of others. On an absolute risk measure, all participants overestimated their risk. Different risk measures can lead to different conclusions about how women perceive their risk. In addition, the nearly exclusive focus of women on family history may create difficulties for genetic counselors providing information about breast cancer risk.