Health Locus of Control and Chronic Disease: an External Orientation May Be Advantageous

A total of 62 cancer chemotherapy patients completed the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scale prior to receiving training in progressive muscle relaxation and/or biofeedback for the reduction of the side effects of their treatment. Physiological measures of arousal and patient-reported indices of negative affect and nausea were collected during baseline, training, and follow-up chemotherapy sessions. Results indicated that following relaxation training and/or biofeedback, chemotherapy patients with a high external health locus of control orientation, as compared to patients without such an orientation, had lower levels of physiological arousal and reported less negative affect. These findings suggest that in medical situations in which little personal control is possible, an external health locus of control may be advantageous.