They found that the majority of participants recognized that health behaviors were more likely to cause ill-health than genetics. On the whole, they were more interested in behavioral health information than in genetic information to understand what affects their chances of getting certain conditions. However, as the number of behavioral risk factors increased, inclination to favor genetic explanations also increased.

The authors conclude: "Our findings highlight that, although most did not over-ascribe common health conditions to genetics or hold defensively biased causal attributions that would inhibit needed behavior change, those with the greatest need for behavior change are at most risk for responding defensively and devaluing behavior change information. One possible explanation suggested by the authors is that behaviorally at-risk participants may have prior experience seeking and applying standard behavioral advice without success. As a result these individuals may see less value in this information.

SOURCE National Human Genome Research Institute/National Institutes of Health