Risk perception and risk behavior in survivors of pediatric cancer

While nonvictims generally rate themselves as invulnerable to future problems, victims of an acute trauma temporarily perceive themselves as more vulnerable to events like the one experienced. This study examined whether survivors of a serious and chronic disease temporarily lacked perceptions of invulnerability to potential future illnesses. Eighty off-treatment adolescent and adult survivors of pediatric leukemias and lymphomas provided risk estimates in comparison to the average person and the average survivor, as well as frequencies of their risky and precautionary behavior. Results showed that subjects judged themselves as invulnerable to nonillness items, but not to a range of illness variables. Furthermore, their lack of perceived invulnerability for illnesses did not appear to be temporary. While this study also sought to demonstrate a relationship between risk perceptions and risk behavior utilizing a new method of asking about the former, these hypotheses were only partially supported.