Pixel International Conferences

Representation is an act of thought through which a subject relates to an object. There is no representation without an object [1, 2]. In order to comprehend the representation’s content [2, 3, 5], it is thus necessary to emphasize on the components from the representations which scientific information belongs to and that is of great interest for this study on cancer.

This study aims to identify the cancer’s representations that pupils from different levels have. Two variables are taken into             account: the pupils’ level (4^ème (Year 9), 1^ère S (Year 12 specialised in Science), Master’s degree) and the relative position of cancer compared with other illnesses.

The sample is composed of 217 informants: 96 pupils in Year 9, 83 pupils in Year 12 – Specialisation in Science and 38 students in a biology master’s degree (1^st and 2^nd year). The information were gathered from the filing systems intuitively established by the pupils/students (filing systems from non-initiated). The first questionnaire (pre-study) required to list the names of the illnesses that come straight to their minds. The second suggested 4 features (contagious illnesses, mortal or curable with or without medicines) and asked to classify illnesses according to the latter.

The results showed that the pupils who should have been less concerned about cancer were actually the ones who thought first to cancer. Cancer is the illness the most quoted before influenza and HIV (especially in Year 9). Cancer is perceived as non-contagious (95%) but highly associated to death even though the chances of survival thanks to a treatment are higher than for the other illnesses evoked (HIV, influenza, Ebola). The representations of cancer are modified according to the age and thus the level of study: the older you get, the less important the illness is. It is possible that once other illnesses are known, the cancer looks less threatening.

These results gave rise to the importance of teaching and giving detailed information to young people during their education (whether at school or not). It is hoped that such an education would demystify the cancer.