Zusammenhänge von gesundheitsbezogenen
Kontrollüberzeugungen, Alltagskompetenz und Therapieziel mit dem
emotionalen Befinden bei neu diagnostizierten Krebspatienten
Subtitle: Associations
between health-related locus of control, everyday competence, goal of therapy,
and emotional well-being in newly diagnosed cancer patients
Affiliations: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Lehrstuhl
für Entwicklungspsychologie und Center for Applied Developmental Science,
Am Steiger 3/1, D-07743 Jena. E-mail: Cornelia.Froehlich@uni-jena.de | Klinikum der Universität Jena, Klinik für
Innere Medizin II, Erlanger Allee 101, D-07740 Jena
Abstract: The present study analyzed relationships between everyday
competence, goal of therapy, and health-related locus of control with emotional
wellbeing of 337 newly diagnosed cancer patients. In line with predictions,
higher scores in activities of daily living (ADL) and higher internal locus of
control were associated with better emotional well-being, whereas fatalism was
related to lower levels of emotional well-being. However, no associations
between socially external locus of control and goal of therapy with well-being
emerged. In addition, we found interaction effects of ADL and locus of control
on emotional well-being: Participants with no ADL-impairments and low
impairments, but not those with high impairments, showed a positive
relationship between internal health-related locus of control beliefs and
emotional well-being. However, social-external health-related locus of control
was related to better emotional well-being only in participants with strong
impairments of daily activities. We conclude that associations between
health-related locus of control and emotional wellbeing vary with
patients' level of everyday competence.
Keywords: Cancer, health-related locus of control, affect balance, everyday competence, goal of therapy
