Primary and secondary control over age-related changes in physical appearance

Beliefs about appearance-related changes due to aging were used to test the effects of perceived control and secondary control (acceptance) in a sample of 412 young, early-middle-age, and late-middle-age college-educated adults. Mean difference in aging-related appearance control and hypotheses regarding the adaptiveness of primary and secondary control were examined. Primary control over aging-related appearance was lower in older adults and secondary control was higher. In addition, the results indicated support for the Primacy/Back-Up Model that primary perceived control is important at all levels of actual control. Those with stronger beliefs in their primary control were less distressed. Secondary control served a back-up function in that it was related to less distress only for those who had medium or lower beliefs in primary control. The implications of these findings, that primary control may be advantageous even in low-control circumstances, are discussed.     

Health locus-of-control beliefs and improvement in physical functioning in a work-hardening, return-to-work program.

Participants in a work-hardening, return-to-work program completed the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scale and were evaluated on five measures of physical functioning, both at intake and discharge. Using cluster analysis, five MHLC-profile types were identified at intake, and those with a combination of high beliefs in internal control and control by powerful others were found to show greater subsequent improvement from intake to discharge on one measure of physical functioning. In addition, three MHLC-change-profile types from intake to discharge were identified, and those showing an increase in beliefs in internal control also showed greater improvement from intake to discharge on two measures of physical functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors influencing adjustment of patients suffering from nasopharynx carcinoma--implications for oncology social work

A longitudinal study has been conducted in Hong Kong to identify important factors that affect short-term adjustment of patients suffering from nasopharynx carcinoma (NPC). A total of 125 newly diagnosed NPC patients were interviewed in the diagnostic phase, the number dropping to 119 in the treatment phase, and 111 in the post-treatment phase. Data were gathered by a pre-tested structured measuring instrument via face-to-face interviews. Those patients with poor adjustment in each phase of the illness were found to have higher perceived stress; they tended to interpret their illness as more threatening and less controllable, and they employed problem-focused coping less frequently but used emotion-focused coping more frequently. The health locus of control and the overall perceived social support had differential effects on short-term adjustment in different phases of the illness. Current stress was identified to be the most important factor accounting for patients' adjustment in the treatment phase, while adjustment in the post-treatment phase was predominantly accounted for by previous adjustment. Based on the results of this study, a new model of practice is proposed for oncology social workers in Hong Kong, which is proactive, comprehensive, preventive and stage-specific. This model of practice is applicable to other countries like USA.     

Role of health locus of control beliefs and expectations of treatment efficacy in adjustment to cancer.

Examined the effects of health locus of control beliefs (self-, doctor, and chance control) and expectations of treatment efficacy on short-term psychological adjustment in 137 18–86 yr old newly diagnosed cancer patients. The role of these beliefs and expectations in moderating the relation between perceived and actual disease severity and depression was also examined. Ss completed an intake questionnaire assessing the perceived severity of illness, the amount of pain or discomfort they were experiencing, how sad or depressed they were, and expectations about complying with medication instructions; Ss also completed items from Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, the Multi-Dimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale. The relation between perceptions of disease severity and depression was weaker for Ss who believed that they could personally control their health and for those who held positive expectations about the effects of complying with medical treatment. Similar patterns were found when disease severity was defined in terms of prognosis for survival. Strong negative correlations between self-control/treatment expectations and depression were found for Ss who perceived that their illness was severe. The results for chance and doctor control were less consistent. The stability of health control beliefs and treatment expectations over the course of a serious long-term illness is discussed. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial Factors in Outcomes of Heart Surgery: The Impact of Religious Involvement and Depressive Symptoms.

This article reports a prospective study of religiousness and recovery from heart surgery. Religiousness and other psychosocial factors were assessed in 142 patients about a week prior to surgery. Those with stronger religious beliefs subsequently had fewer complications and shorter hospital stays, the former effect mediating the latter. Attendance at religious services was unrelated to complications but predicted longer hospitalizations. Prayer was not related to recovery. Depressive symptoms were associated with longer hospital stays. Dispositional optimism, trait hostility, and social support were unrelated to outcomes. Effects of religious beliefs and attendance were stronger among women than men and were independent of biomedical and other psychosocial predictors. These findings encourage further examination of differential health effects of the various elements of religiousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of health beliefs on weight loss in individuals at high risk for NIDDM

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether perceived risk and other health beliefs held by individuals at high risk for developing NIDDM predict weight loss and behavior change during a behavioral weight loss program to reduce the risk of NIDDM. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Health beliefs and objective risk factors for diabetes were examined in 154 overweight men and women with a family history of NIDDM. The effects of these factors on adherence, dietary intake, weight loss, and changes in glucose levels were examined in a subset of 79 of these subjects who participated in a 2-year behavioral weight control program. RESULTS: Those subjects who perceived themselves at highest risk of developing diabetes had a stronger family history of the disease and were more likely to be women than subjects considering themselves at more moderate risk. These participants also rated diabetes as a more serious disease, but were less likely to believe that weight loss would lower their risk. None of these health beliefs were related to attendance at meetings, dietary intake, weight loss, or fasting glucose, but higher perceived seriousness predicted larger reductions in BMI at 1 year. Of the objective risk factors for NIDDM, higher baseline BMI predicted larger weight losses throughout the program, and a stronger family history of diabetes was related to greater weight regain after an initial weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived risk of developing diabetes and other health beliefs did not predict performance in a behavioral weight loss program. These data suggest that efforts to modify health beliefs by educating high-risk individuals about their risk and benefits of weight loss may not be effective in improving long-term weight loss results.     

"Learning to Live With What You Can't Rise Above": Control Beliefs, Symptom Control, and Adjustment to Tinnitus.

The relations between 3 types of perceived control, symptom severity, and 2 adaptational outcomes, depressive symptoms and psychological well-being, were examined in a sample of 319 people with tinnitus. Consistent with previous studies of control and adjustment to chronic health conditions, general health and symptom control were associated with better psychological adjustment, and retrospective control was associated with worse psychological adjustment. Only symptom control emerged as a significant moderator in the symptom severity--adjustment relationship, such that stronger beliefs in one's ability to control symptoms were most strongly associated with better adjustment among those with more severe tinnitus symptoms. These findings were consistent with coping perspectives and cognitive adaptation theory and suggest that symptom-related perceptions of control may be an effective coping resource to nurture in chronic health contexts with severe symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal efficacy, external locus of control, and perceived contingency of parental reinforcement among depressed, paranoid, and normal subjects.

Hypothesized that different combinations of personal efficacy and outcome expectancies (i.e., locus of control) would characterize the thought structures of normal Ss and of psychiatric patients suffering from distinctly different disorders. 26 normal (mean age 30.1 yrs), 15 depressed, and 22 paranoid Ss (mean age of patients 34.5 yrs) completed scales that measured beliefs in personal efficacy, beliefs that outcomes are controlled either by chance or by powerful others, and perceived contingency of parental reinforcement. Findings show that normals judged themselves to be more efficacious than did psychiatric Ss, depressives expected outcomes to be controlled by chance, and paranoids expected outcomes to be under the control of powerful others. Among the normals, outcome expectancies were strongly associated with personal efficacy, but among the patients, these beliefs were unrelated. Depressives and paranoids equally reported more noncontingent parental reinforcement than did normals. Perceived contingency of parental reinforcement was predictive of outcome expectancies but not of personal efficacy. Data suggest that low personal efficacy may be a distinguishing characteristic of all psychiatric patients, whereas outcome expectancies may determine the specific nature of the psychiatric disorder. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maintaining perceptions of control: Finding perceived control in low-control circumstances.

Three questions about the role of perceived control in coping with a major life stressor were addressed in a sample of 71 cancer patients. As expected, those with greater perceptions of control were less depressed, even when physical functioning, marital satisfaction, and negative affectivity were controlled for. Consistent with a compensatory model of control, it was more important for patients to believe that they could control daily emotional reactions and physical symptoms than the course of the disease. Patients who endorsed irrational beliefs had lower overall perceptions of control. The results indicated that even patients who were physically or psychosocially worse off were better adjusted if they had higher perceptions of control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of irrational health beliefs: Relation to health practices and medical regimen adherence.

The purpose of the present research was to provide initial validation of the 20-item Irrational Health Belief Scale (IHBS). Study 1 included 392 undergraduate psychology students. Results from Study 1 suggested that the IHBS total score is internally consistent and stable over an 18-month time period. Greater health-related cognitive distortion (higher IHBS scores) was associated with weaker internal health locus of control beliefs, lower positive affectivity, stronger chance health locus of control beliefs, and greater negative affectivity. Most important, greater cognitive distortion was uniquely and significantly associated with a less positive pattern of health practices. Study 2 involved 107 individuals with Type I diabetes mellitus. Results indicated that higher IHBS scores were significantly associated with both objective (hemoglobin HbA?) and self-reported diabetic regimen adherence independent of trait neuroticism and conscientiousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderators of the relation between perceived control and adjustment to chronic illness.

It was predicted that the relation between perceived control and adjustment to chronic illness would be stronger when (1) perceptions of control were based in reality and (2) the threat was severe. Perceived control was assessed during the hospitalization of 80 first cardiac event patients, and adjustment was assessed during hospitalization and 3-mo follow-up. Results indicated that perceptions of vicarious control (perception that other people and things have control) were related to better adjustment only for patients who had undergone invasive procedures by physicians. The relation between control and adjustment was stronger under more severe threat conditions (poor prognosis and rehospitalization). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spiritual health locus of control and breast cancer beliefs among urban African American women.

The present study examined the relationship between spiritual health locus of control, breast cancer beliefs, and mammography utilization among a sample of 1,227 African American women from urban public health centers. Spiritual health locus of control was conceptualized as having an active and passive dimension, empowering individuals in their health beliefs and behaviors or rendering them to rely on a higher power (e.g., God) to determine their health outcomes, respectively. The active dimension was negatively associated with perceived benefits of mammography and positively associated with perceived barriers to mammography. The active and passive spiritual dimensions are distinct from internal and external health locus of control. Further study of their associations with other health-related beliefs and behaviors is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving control, construing benefits, and daily processes in rheumatoid arthritis.

Examined the influence of perceived pain control (PPC) and pain benefit appraisals (PBAs) on adjustment to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a 75-day study of 54 RA patients. After completing measures of dispositional optimism (M. Scheier and C. Carver; see record 1986-19862-001) and appraisals of control over, and benefits from, their chronic pain, Ss reported each day their pain intensity, mood, and activity limitations due to pain. Controlling for disease activity and dispositional optimism, Ss high in PPC at the outset of the study experienced less daily pain. Daily pain also moderated the relation between control beliefs and adjustment as well as the relation between PBA and adjustment. With increased pain, greater PPC was associated with less positive mood. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of control beliefs and attributions on memory self-assessments and performance.

Individual differences in memory performance among elderly adults may be due, in part, to variability in personality and metamemory variables. We examined whether control beliefs, attributions, and depression were related to memory self-assessments, performance, and change in these variables across two trials. Participants were 47 elderly adults (M age?=?69.72 years). Results of multiple regression analyses were consistent with predictions. Those individuals with stronger internal control beliefs made higher self-assessments at the first trial. Those who made higher assessments and those younger in age had higher performance at the first trial. Those with higher performance at the first trial and those who attributed this performance to internal, stable, and global causes were less likely to show decrements in self-assessments and performance across trials. Implications of the findings for enhancing memory performance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Helplessness and resourcefulness in coping with epilepsy.

Examined the hypothesis that emotional sequelae of epilepsy are a joint function of the epilepsy severity level and Ss' perceived repertoire of self-control skills (i.e., their learned resourcefulness). 50 19–50 yr old epileptic patients were divided into 3 groups according to the occurrence frequency of generalized tonic-clonic seizures: high, medium, and low frequencies. Ss were further divided into high-resourceful (HR) and low-resourceful (LR) groups according to their scores on the Self-Control Schedule. Ss were administered a battery of tests that included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory. In a structured interview Ss' emotional adjustment level was evaluated as well as their beliefs in their ability to control their health and seizures. In the medium and low categories of seizure frequency, HR Ss were significantly less depressed and anxious and coped better with their disability than LR Ss. However, in the high-frequency range of seizures, HR and LR Ss equally showed low levels of emotional adjustment. Regardless of the severity level of the epilepsy, HR Ss maintained a stronger belief in their control over their health and their seizures. Seizure frequency had no effect on these beliefs. Data support the notion that individual differences in learned resourcefulness influence the coping level of epileptics, in particular in the less severe cases of epilepsy. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived control and intellectual functioning in the elderly: A 5-year longitudinal study.

We examined whether control beliefs are related to individual differences in intellectual aging by administering a battery of intellectual tests and perceived control scales to 63 elderly adults in 1981 and in 1986. Over the 5 years there were no changes in generalized control or intellectual performance, but there were changes in intellectual control beliefs. Specifically, the participants reported an increased dependence on others to carry out cognitive tasks. The cross-occasion stability correlations were relatively high, although there was some evidence for individual differences in change, especially for the control variables. Surprisingly, those with higher levels of education were more likely to show decreases in perceived intellectual control. Health was a significant antecedent of individual changes in vocabulary performance and intellectual control. The results also indicated that fluid intelligence was a significant predictor of changes in intellectual control beliefs, but control beliefs did not affect performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family history of smoking and young adult smoking behavior.

Compared the smoking behavior and smoking-related beliefs of 816 young adult smokers who did and did not have a family history of cigarette smoking (FHS). Those with an FHS smoked more cigarettes in a typical day, smoked for more years, perceived themselves as more addicted to cigarettes, had more positive beliefs about the psychological consequences of smoking, and reported stronger pleasurable relaxation motives and stimulation motives for smoking compared with their peers who had no FHS. Thus, smokers with an FHS were more committed smokers and viewed smoking as having more positive psychological benefit than did their peers without an FHS. Such individual differences may be mediated through both social–environmental and genetically influenced mechanisms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resolution of a developmental paradox: How can perceived internality increase, decrease, and remain the same across middle childhood?

Developmentalists studying change in control-related beliefs during middle childhood have found decreases in perceived internality predicted from a Piagetian perspective, increases expected from a locus of control viewpoint, and also no developmental differences. We proposed that this paradox arises because different (although related) definitions of perceived internality are being used. Whereas Piaget was interested in perceived internality only, most locus of control theorists define perceived internality relative to perceived externality and differ even among themselves as to which internal and external causes they contrast (e.g., multiple causes or only effort vs. powerful others). The hypothesis that these definitional differences account for the paradox was tested empirically using two independent samples of children aged 7–12 years who rated the effectiveness of two internal and three external causes separately. Comparison of age differences in scores derived according to the three different definitions revealed (a) decreases in children"s ratings of the effeveness of the internal causes, consistent with Piagetian predictions; but (b) increases in children"s relative internality scores when multiple causes were included, as expected by locus of control theorists; and (c) no develoctipmental differences in relative internality when only the causes "effort"" and "powerful others"" were included, replicating earlier studies. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived parental characteristics, locus of control orientation, and behavioral correlates of locus of control.

Attempted to ascertain perceived parental behavior associated with locus of control orientation. 112 high school seniors (58 males and 54 females) completed the Nowicki-Strickland Personal Reaction Survey and the Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale. Generally, perceived paternal nurturance was associated with female internality, and perceived maternal nurturance was associated with male internality. All Ss perceived parents as having a similar locus of control orientation. In Phase 2 of the study, behavior associated with Ss' locus of control and perceived parental locus of control orientation was investigated. Ss' expressed internality was associated with higher achievement for males and with greater social involvement for females. Perceived paternal internality was significantly associated with greater female achievement. Results are discussed in terms of social learning and cultural role-expectancy theory. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions, vulnerability, and psychological adjustment: The case of breast cancer.

Hypothesized that psychological adjustment would be positively associated with breast cancer victims' perceptions of invulnerability to a recurrence of cancer and that victims' causal attributions for cancer (e.g., self-blame, birth control pills, sexually demanding husband) would influence adjustment to the extent that the attributions contributed to or detracted from perceived invulnerability. A path model was developed based on the proposed association between invulnerability and adjustment, and attributions were tested for whether they directly or indirectly influenced adjustment. Responses from intensive interviews of 42 breast cancer victims (aged 23–81 yrs) who had undergone mastectomies within 2 yrs prior to being interviewed were used to test the path model. Ss were also administered the Beck Depression Inventory and another measure to assess emotional response to breast cancer at Ss' present stage of adjustment. Results support the hypothesized positive association between perceived invulnerability and adjustment and show that the relationships between specific attributions and adjustment were mediated by vulnerability beliefs. Follow-up data may be useful in ascertaining the role played by cognitions in the biological progression of cancer. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)