RESUMEN
Perceived control is a personality characteristic that contributes to well-being, but few studies have attempted to integrate the functions of perceived control with those of other determinants of health. This research tested two hypotheses about the functions of perceived control: (a) individual differences in perceived control would account for socioeconomic differences in self-rated health status; (b) performance of health-related behaviors would account for the health benefits of perceived control. Using data from adult, nonproxy respondents in the National Population Health Survey of Canada (1995; n = 11, 110), confirmatory factor analysis supported a measurement model of self-rated health status composed of two correlated factors: physical health (i.e., chronic conditions. restricted activities, self-rated general health, physical functional capacity) and mental health (i.e., distress, depression). Structural equation modeling supported the first hypothesis, but not the second, regarding perceived control as a determinant of self-rated physical and mental health. Health-related behaviors partially mediated age differences in self-rated health, but different behaviors functioned in this way for men than for women. The findings suggest that psychological process, that of perceiving control over life events, underlies social inequality in health. Health-related behaviors appear not to serve as the primary mechanism through which perceived control influences health.
Asunto(s)
Actitud Frente a la Salud , Conductas Relacionadas con la Salud , Conocimientos, Actitudes y Práctica en Salud , Estado de Salud , Renta/estadística & datos numéricos , Control Interno-Externo , Salud Mental , Apoyo Social , Adolescente , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Canadá , Niño , Estudios Transversales , Escolaridad , Análisis Factorial , Femenino , Encuestas Epidemiológicas , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Modelos Psicológicos , Factores Sexuales , Factores SocioeconómicosRESUMEN
This study examined life satisfaction among individuals who had undergone a transition in marital status and those whose marital status remained stable over a 7-year period. In particular, using data from a large-scale, longitudinal study we assessed life satisfaction as measured in 1983 and 1990 among 2,180 men and women between the ages of 67 and 102. Groups of individuals were identified on the basis of whether a spouse was present or absent at the two measurement points. This allowed for a classification of groups who experienced stability or transitions in marital status. Among those individuals whose marital status remained stable over the 7 years, women's life satisfaction declined and men's remained constant. Among those who experienced a transition--in particular, the loss of a spouse--a decline in life satisfaction was found for both men and women, decline being more predominant for men. In addition, men's life satisfaction increased over the 7-year period if they gained a spouse, whereas the same was not true for women. Generally, these findings imply that the relationship between marital status transitions or stability differs for men and women.
Asunto(s)
Anciano/psicología , Divorcio/psicología , Acontecimientos que Cambian la Vida , Estado Civil , Matrimonio/psicología , Hombres/psicología , Satisfacción Personal , Viudez/psicología , Mujeres/psicología , Análisis de Varianza , Femenino , Estado de Salud , Humanos , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Manitoba , Salud Mental , Factores Sexuales , Apoyo Social , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
Gerontologists are increasingly interested in the notion of perceived personal control because such perceptions can be threatened by age-related changes such as declining health and the loss of loved ones. Although a great deal is known about the central role of perceived control in healthy, successful aging, less is known about its potential role in specific contexts such as the use of health services. Our study examined the link between perceived control and patterns of health service use among older individuals with arthritis. We assessed perceived control during an interview, using both a domain-specific and a global measure, and considered health service use in the subsequent year. Even after statistically adjusting for age and morbidity, individuals who perceived low levels of control subsequently were found to use more health services than their high-control counterparts; they visited their physicians more often, had more laboratory tests, and stayed longer in the hospital. This was true, however, only for individuals who had also reported that their arthritis restricted the things they were able to do. Various interpretations are considered, including the possibility that patients with low perceived control are inefficient users of health services or that patients with high perceived control experience a deficiency in health care.
Asunto(s)
Envejecimiento/psicología , Artritis/terapia , Libertad , Servicios de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Femenino , Geriatría , Humanos , Masculino , Calidad de Vida , AutoimagenRESUMEN
A growing number of studies show that self-perceptions of health are an important predictor of mortality. The present study was designed to extend this research by examining the relation between health perceptions and a range of other outcome measures besides mortality, including control beliefs and morbidity. The results show that older adults who rated their health as "bad/poor" and "fair" were more than twice as likely to die within three to three-and-a-half years following the initial survey than those who perceived their health as "excellent." However, although health perceptions assessed in 1991/92 were related to health perceptions four years later, they did not predict morbidity. Health perceptions also predicted perceived control and use of control-enhancing strategies in dealing with age-related challenges, as assessed in 1995. These findings contribute to our understanding of the benefits of positive health perceptions by showing that they are connected to an adaptive psychological profile including perceptions of control and use of control-enhancing strategies that are linked to health and well-being.
Asunto(s)
Actitud Frente a la Salud , Estado de Salud , Control Interno-Externo , Mortalidad , Actividades Cotidianas , Adaptación Psicológica , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Servicios de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Humanos , Masculino , Manitoba , Morbilidad , Estudios Prospectivos , Análisis de Regresión , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: The major goal of this article was to assess the link between control-enhancing strategies and health in an older population. In particular, the use of primary-control strategies, which involve modifying the environment (e.g., actively persisting) and compensatory secondary-control strategies, which involve modifying the self (e.g., expecting less of oneself) was studied. METHODS: Participants (n = 241) in a large-scale longitudinal study were interviewed to assess their use of strategies and their health. RESULTS: Health (physical and perceived) was found to vary for those using primary- and compensatory secondary-control strategies; however, the nature of this variation depended on age. DISCUSSION: The findings may indicate that primary-control strategies have positive health implications for the young-old but that these same strategies become detrimental to health in late life. The findings could further suggest that compensatory secondary-control strategies become increasingly more adaptive in late life.
Asunto(s)
Envejecimiento , Estado de Salud , Control Interno-Externo , Actividades Cotidianas , Factores de Edad , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Canadá , Femenino , Humanos , Estudios Longitudinales , MasculinoRESUMEN
The effect of perceived control on health has been examined extensively in the gerontological literature. A question that has received little attention, however, is whether perceived control affords similar benefits to all other adults. In a longitudinal study we examined the effect of perceived control, in combination with functional status and age, on perceived health, morbidity, hospitalization, and mortality. The analyses showed that perceived control interacted with functional status for old-old (80+ years old) adults, but not for young-old (65-79 years old) adults in terms of perceived health, hospitalization, and mortality. For perceived health, feeling in control was of benefit of old-old adults with some functional impairment, but not to those with little impairment. Moreover, a greater sense of control was associated with lower rates of hospitalization and mortality for old-old individuals with little functional impairment. These results highlight the usefulness of examining the buffering effects of perceived control in relation to different age groups.
Asunto(s)
Envejecimiento/fisiología , Envejecimiento/psicología , Estado de Salud , Control Interno-Externo , Mortalidad , Autoimagen , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Femenino , Hospitalización , Humanos , Masculino , MorbilidadRESUMEN
Although the physical and psychological benefits of feeling in control are well-documented in the research literature, the mechanisms that account for these effects have received less attention. The present study was designed to examine the potential mediating role of exercising and participation in nonphysical leisure activities, such as attending cultural events, involvement in volunteer organizations, and so on, in the relation between perceived control and well-being in seniors. The results indicated that an internal locus of control was positively related to exercising and participation in leisure activities. Exercising and leisure activity participation, in turn, were predictive of better perceived health and greater life satisfaction. These findings point to the potential benefits of increasing seniors' sense of control as a means to promote exercising and to increase leisure activity participation and, consequently, to enhance well-being.
Asunto(s)
Control Interno-Externo , Actividades Recreativas , Autoevaluación (Psicología) , Anciano , Canadá , Ejercicio Físico , Femenino , Estado de Salud , Humanos , Masculino , Calidad de VidaRESUMEN
Some seniors face difficulties carrying out simple everyday tasks such as opening containers and turning doorknobs. This study began with the premise that seniors' appraisals about such difficulties may have consequences for feelings of task efficacy (e.g., feelings of control and optimism). Attributions to poor product design (an external/environmental factor) and to limitations (an internal/personal factor) were considered in addition to joint attributions to both factors. After controlling for health and gender, type of attribution for task difficulties was found to relate to feelings of task efficacy. Overall, the results suggest that seniors may be advantaged by viewing their performance difficulties as a consequence of poor product design. Compared to their counterparts, these individuals reported the highest levels of control, ability to cope, optimism, and beliefs about overcoming problems. Individuals who made joint attributions reported feeling most helpless and unable to cope with the present problems.
Asunto(s)
Actividades Cotidianas , Ergonomía , Autoimagen , Análisis y Desempeño de Tareas , Actividades Cotidianas/psicología , Anciano , Humanos , Análisis MultivarianteRESUMEN
One element of Coren and Halpern's controversial theory [Psychological Bulletin, 109, 90-106 (1991)] that left-handedness is associated with shorter lifespans is the hypothesis that sinistrality is accompanied by a developmental lag. Perinatal traumas could interfere with the normal developmental shift to right-sided lateral preferences during childhood, leading to an association between maturational lag and left-handedness. In a test of this hypothesis, we assessed current stature, predicted adult stature and relative stature, an index of physical maturity, for elementary school-aged children in three separate, large-sample studies. No relations between hand preference and the three measures of physical status were found. Repeated failures to confirm the hypothesis with pre-adolescent samples raise serious doubt about the viability of the left-handed developmental lag hypothesis.
Asunto(s)
Discapacidades del Desarrollo/diagnóstico , Lateralidad Funcional , Adulto , Estatura , Peso Corporal , Daño Encefálico Crónico/diagnóstico , Daño Encefálico Crónico/psicología , Niño , Discapacidades del Desarrollo/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Factores de RiesgoRESUMEN
Beginning with the premise that care recipients' perceptions of inadequate help may have long-term negative consequences, this study examined whether seniors' perceptions related to patterns of well-being over a 12-year period. Patterns of change in physical health (i.e., number of chronic health conditions, self-rated health), psychological well-being (i.e., life satisfaction), and independence (i.e., functional and instrumental) were compared for older men and women who initially reported that their level of IADL assistance was either adequate or inadequate. Seniors who perceived their support as inadequate experienced more severe losses of independence. This was true for both men and women with respect to their ability to independently conduct instrumental ADLs. With respect to the ability to independently conduct functional, that is, basic ADLs, it was true only for women. These findings may imply that perceptions of support inadequacy have a more detrimental effect for women than for men.