The questionnaire consisted of demographics (Table 1), 38 items consisting of statements reflecting attitudes, beliefs, and concerns about genetic research, two items assessing willingness to participate in genetic research, and four items assessing mental illness (clinical) and research participation history (available upon request). The 38 attitudinal statements were developed for this study and were based on themes described in the literature on attitudes toward research, and themes obtained from a series of focus groups, consisting of mostly Black participants (Murphy and Thompson, in press). Generally, most respondents in the focus groups felt that genetic research would be helpful for the prevention and/or cure of certain diseases, and beneficial for educating society in general. The primary negative themes that emerged from the groups were fear of harmful or unpleasant procedures (e.g. having blood drawn, having to ingest substances, etc.), fear of loss of confidentiality, stigma associated with mental illness and family involvement, and lack of knowledge or education about genetics and genetic research. An example of one of the attitudinal statements in the questionnaire is ‘genetic research is important for educating
