Social Status and Attitudes toward Organizational Control of Genetic Data

Abstract

Advances in genetics testing technologies have lead to concerns over the use of genetic testing in non-medical, organizational settings. Genetic testing, which is becoming an increasingly common practice in organizations to screen employees and applicants for employment and insurance for genetic anomalies, has been demonstrated to be consistent with organizational goals such as profitablity and efficiency. This paper examines the characteristics of those who support organizational genetic screening. Data from a randomly selected sample of adults reveal that three indicators of socio-economic status — income, education and supervising others — were negatively associated with support for the non-medical use of genetic data. These findings suggest that working class individuals are more likely to conform to organizational policies requiring genetic testing of employees and clients. The study argues that managerial decisions based on genetic data may have the most impact on individuals with the fewest socio-economic resources.