Table 3.

Interpretation of hypothetic nongenetic cause: Cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease (listed in order of frequency reported)

Statements about hypothetic nongenetic cause by people with cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease
Positive interpretation	Negative interpretation
More likely to have children (C, S)	Might be contagious (C,S)
Parents might feel less responsible for subject’s condition (C, S)	Might be responsible for condition (C, S)
Less apprehensive about health generally (C, S)	Harder to adapt to condition mid-life than to have from birth (C,S)
	Might not know cause (C, S)

C, cystic fibrosis; S, sickle cell disease.