Some psychological factors associated with illness behavior and selected illnesses

Abstract

In the expanding field of medical sociology, the frequency of visits to a free medical facility has become an important form of illness behavior. Such behavior not only reflects the individual's physical health, but also his perception of it, and his decision what to do about it. Involved here are also his attitudes toward doctors and medical care, his psychological make-up, and his phenomenological well-being. Various studies have been able to relate the frequency of dispensary visits to such variables as occupational status, self-esteem and self-acceptance, perceived stress, and the readiness to assume the sick role.The present study was concerned with relating the frequency of dispensary visits to the following variables: disturbances of mood (reported well-being) and self-report measures of aggressive tendencies and of control over impulsiveness and over feelings of anger. The same variables were also related to three diagnostic categories: rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, and ulcer. The major findings, obtained on an industrial population of over 300 male workers, are summarized below: 1. 1. Subjects who obtained high scores on the Mood Scales labeled Aggressive, Jittery, and Depressed had a greater frequency of illness behavior (dispensary visits for illness and illness absences).2. 2. Subjects who scored high on a self-report scale reflecting a tendency to engage in overt aggressive behavior, had a greater frequency of illness behavior.3. 3. The above test and questionnaire data were unrelated to control variables, not indicative of illness behavior: hernia, dispensary visits for injuries, and absences for personal leaves.4. 4. When the measures of control over impulsiveness and over feelings of anger were considered jointly with the other scales, then it was apparent that the amount of control affects the association of illness behavior with mood and overt aggressiveness: strong control reduces the association and weak control enhances it.5. 5. If the scales reflecting tendency to engage in overt aggressive behavior and to control impulsiveness and angry feelings are used to construct a two-dimensional space, then the following placements of the different diagnostic categories are possible: 5.1. (a) Hypertensive men tend to be low on overt aggressiveness and high on control.5.2. (b) Rheumatoid arthritics tend to be high on overt aggressiveness and high on control.5.3. (c) Men with ulcers tend to be low on overt aggressiveness and low on control.5.4. (d) Subjects with a high frequency of illness behavior tend to be high on overt aggressiveness and low on control.