Health locus of control and quality of life in lung cancer patients

Abstract

This article presents the results of a pilot-study concerning the quality of life and the health locus of control beliefs of a group of 16 lung cancer patients before they were informed about their diagnosis and a comparison group of healthy persons. The results indicate a significant difference in health locus of control beliefs between both groups: whereas all the lung cancer patients report a more internally oriented health locus of control belief, healthy persons report a more externally oriented locus of control belief. Furthermore, the quality of life of the lung cancer group changed significantly over time, which was due to an increase in physical complaints. There was no significant relation between the health locus of control beliefs and the quality of life of the patients, The findings of this preliminary investigation are discussed in view of future research concerning cancer, quality of life and-locus of control.