Health and life

The internal versus external dimension of attribution theory has been specifically applied to health in terms of the concept of a health locus of control. Individuals differ as to whether they tend to regard events as controllable by them (an internal locus of control) or uncontrollable by them (an external locus of control). Wallston and Wallston (1982) developed a measure of the health locus of control which evaluates whether an individual regards their health as controllable by them (e.g. ‘I am directly responsible for my health’), whether they believe their health is not controllable by them and in the hands of fate (e.g. ‘whether I am well or not is a matter of luck’), or whether they regard their health as under the control of powerful others (e.g. ‘I can only do what my doctor tells me to do’). Health locus of control has been shown to be related to whether an individual changes their behaviour (e.g. gives up smoking) and to the kind of communication style they require from health professionals. For example, if a doctor encourages an individual who is generally external to change their lifestyle, the individual is unlikely to comply if they do not deem themselves responsible for their health.
Although the concept of a health locus of control is intuitively interesting, there are several problems with it:
■ Is the health locus of control a state or a trait? (Am I always internal?)
■ Is it possible to be both external and internal?
■ Is going to the doctor for help external (the doctor is a powerful other who can make me well) or internal (I am determining my health status by searching out appropriate intervention)?