External health locus of control and general self-efficacy: Moderators of emotional distress among university students

Abstract

A belief that doctors or family control one's health outcomes (external health locus of control), and a belief in one's own ability to achieve desired outcomes (general self-efficacy), may influence distress experienced in relation to a physical illness. This study examined the interaction between illness severity, external health locus of control and general self-efficacy in relation to distress. Illness severity was defined as acute or chronic illness, with the latter expected to be more stressful. Participants described a serious illness they experienced, and completed self-report scales in relation to it. Results confirmed that chronic illnesses were associated with more distress than acute illnesses across the sample. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses supported the predicted effects on distress of a three-way interaction involving external health locus of control, general self-efficacy and illness severity (acute vs. chronic). Analysis of these results may assist in explaining inconsistencies in previous research, and offer a model for understanding the role of person variables in emotional distress.

Posttraumatic stress disorder following asthma attack: the role of agency beliefs in mediating psychiatric morbidity

“…Previous studies have suggested that those with PTSD more often have external locus of control, and have lower levels of self-efficacy (Shelley and Pakenham, 2004;Wu et al, 2004;Mak et al, 2010). Self-efficacy in the current sample was significantly lower for the PTSD group than for those without PTSD, which confirmed the expected result.…”

“…Previous studies found that high self-efficacy and internal LoC are related to resilience in both mental and physical health outcomes (Strickland, 1978;Strecher et al, 1986;Weiss and Larsen, 1990;Bandura, 1993;Wu et al, 2004;Shelley and Pakenham, 2004;Zajacova et al, 2005;Marks et al, 2005;Cross et al, 2006;Leontopoulou, 2006;Cohen et al, 2008;Waldron et al, 2010;Craig et al, 2011;Oliveira et al, 2012). Specifically in regard to PTSD, self-efficacy and LoC are significantly associated with individual differences in pathology and posttraumatic recovery Heinrichs et al, 2005;Chung et al, 2006Chung et al, , 2007Chung et al, , 2012Jones et al, 2006;Mak et al, 2010).…”

Locus of Control and Self-Efficacy: Potential Mediators of Stress, Illness, and Utilization of Health Services in College Students

“…In contrast, more research is needed that examines potential psychological phenomena in the relationship between stress and illness. Thus, far, research suggests that individuals' beliefs about their control over outcomes of importance to them and their selfefficacy play an important role in stress levels and outcomes [15,16,18,19]. Further, given the constant rise in health care costs, it is important to assess the utilization of health care services in the context of these relationships.…”

“…As a result, further research needs to be conducted using real world procedures. In addition, in an examination of the role of locus of control and self-efficacy in the relationship between stress and illness, findings suggest that external health-related locus of control combined with selfefficacy moderates illness-related psychological distress [16]. Given these relationships, further investigation of the role that locus of control and self-efficacy may play in the established relationship between stress and illness is warranted.…”

Life satisfaction and self-efficacy in patients affected by a first stroke living in Kuwait: A two-phase study

“…Origins of locus of control can be found in Rotter's social learning theory in which behaviour is identified as dependent on the type, amount and value of reward or reinforcement derived from engaging in that behaviour (Rotter, 1954). Self-efficacy and locus of control have been defined in the literature as two independent yet overlapping constructs (Shelley and Pakenham, 2004;Wu, Tang and Kwok, 2004). To summarise, self-efficacy can be viewed as the sense of confidence in one's ability to accomplish a particular goal.…”