Sense of Control in Late Life: Health and Survival Implications

Believing that one can influence outcomes presumably fosters a psychological sense of control. so too,however,might adaptive ways of thinking known as secondary control (sc) processes that operate when outcomes are believed to be unattainable. using a 5-year prospective design and a representative sample of adults (ages 79-98),folk beliefs (e.g.,negative experiences can be a blessing in disguise) were used to assess sc processes. the authors expected sc folk beliefs would predict sense of control (hypothesis 1) which,in turn,would predict self-rated health,hospital admissions,and survival (hypothesis 2). an indirect relationship was hypothesized: sc folk beliefs were expected to predict outcomes through the sense of control (hypothesis 3). support was found for all hypotheses providing insights into the antecedents and consequences of a sense of control and about how sc beliefs and a sense of control function in the context of health. © 2012 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.