Sense of Control in Late Life: Health and Survival Implications

Believing that one can influence outcomes presumably fosters a psychological sense of control. So too, however, might adaptive ways of thinking known as secondary control (SC) processes that operate when outcomes are believed to be unattainable. Using a 5-year prospective design and a representative...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality & social psychology bulletin 2012-08, Vol.38 (8), p.1081-1092
Main Authors: Chipperfield, Judith G., Newall, Nancy E., Perry, Raymond P., Stewart, Tara L., Bailis, Daniel S., Ruthig, Joelle C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - psychology
Attitude to Health
Belief & doubt
Canada
Cross-Sectional Studies
Culture
Disguise
Female
Folk beliefs
Health
Health Behavior
Health care
Health Status
Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Hospitals
Humans
Male
Patient admissions
Prospective Studies
Quality of Life - psychology
Self control
Self Efficacy
Self Report
Sense of control
Social Control, Informal
Surveys and Questionnaires
Survival - psychology
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Believing that one can influence outcomes presumably fosters a psychological sense of control. So too, however, might adaptive ways of thinking known as secondary control (SC) processes that operate when outcomes are believed to be unattainable. Using a 5-year prospective design and a representative sample of adults (ages 79-98), folk beliefs (e.g., “negative experiences can be a blessing in disguise”) were used to assess SC processes. The authors expected SC Folk Beliefs would predict Sense of Control (Hypothesis 1) which, in turn, would predict self-rated health, hospital admissions, and survival (Hypothesis 2). An indirect relationship was hypothesized: SC Folk Beliefs were expected to predict outcomes through the Sense of Control (Hypothesis 3). Support was found for all hypotheses providing insights into the antecedents and consequences of a sense of control and about how SC beliefs and a sense of control function in the context of health.
ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/0146167212444758