Date of Graduation

1982

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships of health locus of control and health value to perceived self-care health behavior of undergraduate students. The Multidimension Health Locus of Control Scales (Form A), developed by Wallston, Wallston, and DeVellis (1978) were used to measure the respondents' beliefs regarding health locus of control. The respondents' health values were assessed through use of the Rokeach Terminal Value Scale (1973), which was modified with the addition of the term health. The Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale, developed by Kearney and Fleischer (1979) was used to measure the respondents' perceptions of their ability to engage in self-care health behavior. Demographic variables were assessed through the use of an instrument developed by the author. The instrument package was administered to five hundred twenty-five students (84 percent of the total student body). Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Self-care health behavior was significantly correlated with internal and chance health locus of control. Regression analysis revealed that internal health locus of control is the most important variable in explaining the variance of self-care health behavior, followed by chance. Health value was found to have a small significant inverse relationship with self-care health behavior. Regression analysis revealed that health value explains a very small proportion of the variance of self-care health behavior. Positive self-care health behavior does not appear to be a joint function of internal health locus of control and holding health high value. Although positive self-care health behavior was significantly correlated with internal health locus of control, it did not have a significant correlation with high health value; nor did high health value contribute to the explanation of its variance. Health value was significantly correlated with chance and internal health locus of control, but could explain only a small proportion of the variance in each. It was concluded that there appears to be a relationship between internal and chance health locus of control and self-care health behavior, and holding health in relatively high value does not appear to result in positive self-care health behavior for the undergraduate students in this study.

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