| Literature DB >> 35456417 |
Ming Li1, Shixi Zhao2, Yu-Yu Hsiao3, Oi-Man Kwok4, Tung-Sung Tseng5, Lei-Shih Chen6.
Abstract
Family health history (FHH) can serve as an entry point for preventive medicine by providing risk estimations for many common health conditions. College is a critical time for young adults to begin to understand the value of FHH collection, and to establish healthy behaviors to prevent FHH-related diseases. This study seeks to develop an integrated theoretical framework to examine FHH collection behavior and associated factors among college students. A sample of 2670 college students with an average age of 21.1 years completed a web-based survey. Less than half (49.8%) reported actively seeking FHH information from their family members. Respondents' knowledge about FHH were generally low. Structural equation modeling findings suggested an adequate model fit between our survey data and the proposed integrated theoretical framework. Respondents who were members of racial/ethnic minority groups exhibited higher levels of anxiety and intention to obtain FHH information but had lower confidence in their ability to gather FHH information than non-Hispanic White respondents. Therefore, educational programs designed to enhance the level of young adults' FHH knowledge, efficacy, and behavior in FHH collection, and change subjective norms are critically needed in the future, especially for these who are members of racial/ethnic minority groups.Entities:
Keywords: behavior; college students; communication; family health history; knowledge
Mesh:
Year: 2022 PMID: 35456417 PMCID: PMC9027539 DOI: 10.3390/genes13040612
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Genes (Basel) ISSN: 2073-4425 Impact factor: 4.141
Figure 1Proposed integrated theoretical model of FHH information seeking behavior among young adults. FHH: family health history.
Definitions, description, examples, and data reliability and validity of the psychological constructs measured in the survey.
| Constructs | Definition | Theory | # of Items | Example Question | Mean | SD | Survey Data Score Range | Theoretical Range for Each Score | Cronbach’s Alpha | Construct Validity | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Perceptions of the health advantage of FHH collection | HBM | 4 | Knowing my FHH will help me prevent diseases/health conditions that run in my family. | 5.500 | 1.077 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.730 | χ2 = 14.539, df = 1, | Higher score = Perceived more benefits of FHH collection |
|
| Beliefs concerning the actual and imagined obstacles of FHH collection from family members | HBM | 13 | I don’t know what questions to ask to obtain my FHH. | 2.718 | 1.118 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.869 | χ2 = 847.632, df = 55, | Higher score = Perceived more barriers of FHH collection |
|
| Beliefs about a likelihood of developing disease(s) that runs in family | HBM | 3 | How likely is it that you will get diseases that run in your family? | 4.304 | 1.155 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.753 | CFA result showed a saturated model due to the three items for this construct, and all three items were significantly related to the construct ( | Higher score = Perceived more risk of developing disease(s) that runs in family |
|
| The beliefs regarding the consequences of collecting FHH from family members | TMIM | 3 | Asking my family members about my FHH would produce ______. | 5.304 | 1.306 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.928 | CFA result showed a saturated model due to the three items for this construct, and all three items were significantly related to the construct ( | Higher score = Perceived more value on the outcomes of FHH collection |
|
| The gap between one’s desired and actual level of uncertainty about FHH. | TMIM | 6 | I know less than I would like to about my FHH. | 4.204 | 1.300 | −2.5–6.5 | −2–6.5 a | 0.778 | χ2 = 16.182, df = 1, | Higher score = a desire for more certainty about one’s FHH |
|
| The level of anxiety associated with the uncertainty of FHH | TMIM | 3 | Not having as much information about my FHH as I would like makes me worried. | 3.493 | 1.635 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.934 | CFA result showed a saturated model due to the three items for this construct, and all three items were significantly related to the construct ( | Higher score = Perceived high level of anxiety associated with uncertainty discrepancy of FHH information |
|
| Perceived level of skill and comfort with discussing FHH with family members | TMIM | 3 | I am confident that I can assess all members of my family (including those who do not live near to me) to get information of my FHH. | 4.754 | 1.413 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.735 | CFA result showed a saturated model due to the three items for this construct, and all three items were significantly related to the construct ( | Higher score = More confidence in discussing FHH with family members |
|
| Family members’ ability to provide an accurate FHH information. | TMIM | 4 | My family members would tell me everything they know about our FHH. | 5.245 | 1.240 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.836 | χ2 = 31.058, df = 1, | Higher score = More confidence in information target’s (i.e., family members) ability to provide complete and accurate FHH information |
|
| Ability to cope that family members have certain FHH-related diseases | TMIM | 4 | Imagine that some family members became upset with you for asking them about your FHH and called you ‘nosy’. How well would you cope with this sort of reaction? | 4.506 | 1.199 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.771 | χ2 = 32.838, df = 2, | Higher score = More confidence in handling issues during FHH collection |
|
| Views and influence of other people in FHH collection behavior | TPB | 4 | My family expects me to seek information about my FHH. | 3.555 | 1.542 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.904 | χ2 = 3.832, df = 1, | Higher score = Perceived more social pressure from other important people regarding FHH collection |
|
| Likelihood of collecting FHH from family members | TPB | 6 | I would directly approach my family to talk about it. | 4.838 | 1.093 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.802 | χ2 = 3.207, df = 2, | Higher score = higher likelihood of collecting FHH from family members |
|
| Frequency of FHH collection with family members in the past half-year | TPB | 4 | During the past half-year, I sought information directly about my FHH from my family members. | 2.962 | 1.676 | 1–7 | 1–7 | 0.873 | χ2 = 0.26, df = 1, | Higher score = higher frequent action of FHH collection from member members in the past half-year |
HBM, Health Belief Model; TMIM, Theory of Motivated Information Management; TPB: Theory of Planned Behavior; χ2, chi-square; df, degrees of freedom; RMSEA, root mean square error of approximation; CFI, comparative fit index; SRMR, standardized root mean square residual. The internal consistency and construct validity for each construct were examined using Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. Cronbach’s alpha values larger than 0.70 indicated an acceptable reliability for each construct. For construct validity, a RMSEA less than 0.08; CFI larger than 0.95; and SRMR less than 0.08 indicated an adequate model fit for each construct. a Uncertainty discrepancy was assessed by subtracting participates’ response to the question, “How much information would you like to know about your FHH?” from their answer to the question, “How much information do you know about your FHH?”, plus subtracting participants’ response to the question, “How certain do you want to be about your FHH?” from their answer to the questions, “How certain are you about your FHH?”, and plus participants’ responses to two another questions, “I know less than I would like to about my FHH.” and “I want to know more than I currently know about my FHH.” b Efficacy is a composite score of communication efficacy, target efficacy, and coping efficacy.
FHH knowledge among college students in our sample.
| Conceptual Knowledge Items | Correct (%) |
|---|---|
| FHH tells you which diseases you will certainly develop. (False) | 70.6% |
| If you have a FHH of a disease, you are more likely to get the disease yourself. (True) | 84.6% |
| It is important to know how old your relatives were when they were diagnosed with cancer. (True) | 77.2% |
| You can only inherit breast cancer from your mother’s side of the family. (False) | 66.9% |
| People are genetically more similar to their parents than to their brothers or sisters. (False) | 25.9% |
| In terms of FHH, my biological brothers and sisters are considered my second-degree relatives. (False) | 21.8% |
| Averagely | 57.8% |
FHH: family health history. Note: We adopted the knowledge items from three studies [24,25,32].
Figure 2SEM model for FHH information seeking behavior among college students. p < 0.001 ***, p < 0.005 **, p < 0.05 *. The figure only presented the statistically significant associations (solid lines) and standardized coefficients. a Reference group. SEM: Structural equation modeling; FHH: family health history.