Adult Patient Perspectives on Psychiatric Polygenic Risk Scores
- 1Massachusetts General Hospital
Abstract
Polygenic risk scores (PRS) are rapidly developing, enabling estimates of genetic risk for developing psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric PRS are also increasingly entering consumer and clinical settings. Yet, little is known about how adults with psychiatric disorders perceive their potential use. Here, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 adults with psychiatric disorders to examine their perspectives on hypothetically receiving psychiatric PRS for themselves and their current or future children. Key themes emerged around perceived utility, motivations and deterrents to genetic testing, interpretation of PRS, and anticipated responses to results. In particular, participants expressed hope that PRS could support self-understanding, inform better psychiatric care, and enable earlier recognition of difficulties for their children. Participants however raised multiple concerns, including those of privacy, stigma, discrimination, eugenics, and the risk of self-fulling prophecies. Together, these findings offer critical empirical evidence to inform guidance on the responsible use of psychiatric PRS in clinical and consumer settings.
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BibTeX
@misc{mcfarland2026adult,
title = {{Adult Patient Perspectives on Psychiatric Polygenic Risk Scores}},
author = {C. W. McFarland and A. Merner and P. M. Trotter and A. C. Martinez and L. A. Ginn and J. Frumovitz and D. M. Ayton and T. Soda and E. A. W. Storch and S. Pereira and G. Lazaro-Munoz},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.24.26363942},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.26363942v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Adult Patient Perspectives on Psychiatric Polygenic Risk Scores
AU - C. W. McFarland
AU - A. Merner
AU - P. M. Trotter
AU - A. C. Martinez
AU - L. A. Ginn
AU - J. Frumovitz
AU - D. M. Ayton
AU - T. Soda
AU - E. A. W. Storch
AU - S. Pereira
AU - G. Lazaro-Munoz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.24.26363942
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.26363942v1
AB - Polygenic risk scores (PRS) are rapidly developing, enabling estimates of genetic risk for developing psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric PRS are also increasingly entering consumer and clinical settings. Yet, little is known about how adults with psychiatric disorders perceive their potential use. Here, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 adults with psychiatric disorders to examine their perspectives on hypothetically receiving psychiatric PRS for themselves and their current or future children. Key themes emerged around perceived utility, motivations and deterrents to genetic testing, interpretation of PRS, and anticipated responses to results. In particular, participants expressed hope that PRS could support self-understanding, inform better psychiatric care, and enable earlier recognition of difficulties for their children. Participants however raised multiple concerns, including those of privacy, stigma, discrimination, eugenics, and the risk of self-fulling prophecies. Together, these findings offer critical empirical evidence to inform guidance on the responsible use of psychiatric PRS in clinical and consumer settings.
ER -