Background: The rate of women undergoing contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) has increased significantly over the past decade. Large population studies have examined factors associated with the use of CPM. We studied the factors associated with CPM within our institution. Methods: A 30-question validated survey was mailed to all patients who underwent mastectomy from 1972 to 2011 and are currently receiving treatment or surveillance at our institution. Responses were analyzed to determine the factors predictive of CPM. Multivariate logistic regression methods were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for possible associations between exposures (including age at surgery, marital status, education, race, family history of breast cancer, and BRCA genetic mutation (BRCA mutation) and likelihood of CPM. Results: 368 of 691 surveys were returned. Younger age was statistically significantly associated with increased likelihood of CPM (p-trend < 0.001). Caucasian patients were 4 times as likely to undergo CPM compared to non-Caucasian patients (OR 3.95, 95%CI=1.89-8.23). Patients with a family history of breast cancer were 3 times as likely to undergo CPM as compared with those with no family history (OR 3.38, 95%CI=1.4-8.16). Married patients were also 3 times as likely to undergo CPM compared with unmarried patients (OR 3.00, 95%CI=1.39-6.52). Reporting a BRCA mutation was highly correlated with younger age, positive family history, higher level of education and marital status. Conclusions: When faced with the decision of whether to undergo a CPM, patients must assess both objective future risks and subjective feelings about those risks. These results suggest that the decision to undergo CPM is associated with known risk factors for the development of contralateral cancer such as younger age and positive breast cancer family history. In addition, multiple demographic factors including Caucasian race and married status increased the likelihood of choosing CPM. This may relate to social support as well socioeconomic status. Further exploration into societal factors that impact CPM use is warranted.