Genetic counselors' implicit racial attitudes and their relationship to communication

Health Psychol. 2015 Feb;34(2):111-9. doi: 10.1037/hea0000155.

Abstract

Objective: Implicit racial attitudes are thought to shape interpersonal interactions and may contribute to health-care disparities. This study explored the relationship between genetic counselors' implicit racial attitudes and their communication during simulated genetic counseling sessions.

Method: A nationally representative sample of genetic counselors completed a web-based survey that included the Race Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998; Cooper et al., 2012). A subset of these counselors (n = 67) had participated in an earlier study in which they were video recorded counseling Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White SCs about their prenatal or cancer risks. The counselors' IAT scores were related to their session communications through robust regression modeling.

Results: Genetic counselors showed a moderate to strong pro-White bias on the Race IAT (M = 0.41, SD = 0.35). Counselors with stronger pro-White bias were rated as displaying lower levels of positive affect (p < .05) and tended to use less emotionally responsive communication (p < .10) when counseling minority SCs. When counseling White SCs, pro-White bias was associated with lower levels of verbal dominance during sessions (p < .10). Stronger pro-White bias was also associated with more positive ratings of counselors' nonverbal effectiveness by White SCs.

Conclusion: Implicit racial bias is associated with negative markers of communication in minority client sessions and may contribute to racial disparities in processes of care related to genetic services.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attitude of Health Personnel*
  • Black or African American
  • Communication*
  • Female
  • Genetic Counseling / psychology*
  • Healthcare Disparities
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Racism / psychology*
  • White People