OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relevance of demographic, physician, and 
psychological characteristics to PSA screening in ethnic subpopulations and 
ascertain whether the same characteristics distinguish men who have never had a 
PSA from those who screen infrequently and those who screen yearly (adhere).
DESIGN AND METHODS: Stratified cluster-sampling was used to recruit 533 men 
(45-70 years) from four ethnic groups: African-American; European-American; 
immigrant Jamaican; and immigrant men from Trinidad and Tobago. Men provided 
demographic and structural (insurance, regular physician, annual exam, and 
physician recommendation), cognitive (risk and efficacy perceptions, knowledge), 
and emotional variables (cancer worry and embarrassment), and reported on PSA 
screening history. Multinomial logistic regression used these variables to 
predict three screening classifications (never screened, partially adherent, and 
adherent).
RESULTS: Multinomial logistic regression showed that minority men were less 
likely to report either never screening or yearly screening, while younger men 
were more likely. Lack of a regular physician (OR=2.87, 95% CI 1.39-5.84), an 
annual exam (OR=1.73, 95% CI 0.91-3.28), and low recommendation (OR=3.76, 95% CI 
2.13-6.66) were associated with being categorized as a never (vs. partially 
adherent) screener, but only annual exam (OR=0.26, 95% CI 0.10-0.63) was 
associated with yearly screening. Lower cancer worry was marginally associated 
with never screening (OR=0.59, 95% CI 0.38-1.04), while knowledge was associated 
with screening yearly over time (OR=0.46, 95% CI 0.28-0.77).
CONCLUSIONS: Demographic, physician, and psychological variables are 
differentially associated with never, less than yearly, and yearly screening 
classifications. Minority men were unlikely to have never screened, but were 
also less likely to screen yearly. Physician variables were associated with the 
difference between not screening and partially adherent, but not between 
partially adherent and yearly screening suggesting that the role of physicians 
in PSA behaviour over time would benefit from further study.