Positive attitude towards illness and its relation with health locus of control among patients with depression

Abstract

When recovering from illness, it is important not just to use the achievements of medical science, but also to help people explore their inner powers and use them in order to recover or to find the meaning of disease for ones’ life. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the role of the locus of health control and positive attitude towards illness in patients with depression. Methods: 140 patients (77.1% females, 22.9% males) in the rehabilitation stage after a depressive episode were assessed by the Multidimensional HLC scale (Wallston, Wallston, DeVellis, 1994) and The Silver Lining Questionnaire (Sodergren, Hyland, 2000). Findings: Positive attitude towards illness was positively related to internal locus of health control among females (r¼0.49; p50.0001) and the external locus of control among males (0.47; p50.007). Discussion: Further studies in this area would add to psychological well-being of patients, especially clarifying gender differences.