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Rural and urban breast cancer patients: health locus of control and psychological adjustment
Author(s) -
Bettencourt B. Ann,
Talley Amelia E.,
Molix Lisa,
Schlegel Rebecca,
Westgate Steven J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.1315
Subject(s) - locus of control , rurality , breast cancer , residence , psychology , rural area , health care , medicine , clinical psychology , demography , social psychology , cancer , sociology , political science , pathology , law
Objective : This study examines the moderating influence of rural residence on the associations between health locus of control (HLC) beliefs and psychological well‐being. Method : Two hundred and twenty‐four breast cancer patients were surveyed. Results : The results revealed that rurality interacted with HLC beliefs in predicting psychological adjustment. The pattern indicated that, whereas endorsing external forms of locus of control can be detrimental to the psychological well‐being of urban breast cancer patients, the same is not true for rural breast cancer patients. For rural breast cancer patients, powerful others locus of control was beneficial for and chance locus of control was unrelated to well‐being. Conclusions : Implications for future research and medical care are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.