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Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to assess (1) the reliability of the revised Wallhagen Perceived Control Questionnaire (PCQ-R), derived from a person-environment perspective, in a sample of elderly African Americans > or = 60 years with Type 2 diabetes and (2) the relationship between the PCQ-R and psychosocial and physiological functioning., Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, pilot project was conducted with a convenience sample of 23 African Americans with Type 2 diabetes. Variables included health status, the PCQ-R, the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form 36, and glycosylated hemoglobin., Results: The PCQ-R was reliable and significantly related to physical and social functioning, physical and emotional role involvement, mental health, vitality, and general health perception. No relationship was found with metabolic control., Conclusions: Findings support the reliability of the PCQ-R and the conceptualization of control. However, confirmation is needed in a larger sample, and questions that emerged require further exploration.

Sense of control in the context of an uncontrollable chronic illness is explored by analyzing the impact of the patient's perceived control over symptoms (PCS) and perceived control over disease progression (PCDP) on patient and caregiver outcomes. PCS was significantly associated with patient well-being, caregiver well-being, and less caregiver burden. No relationship was found between PCDP and patient well-being, caregiver well-being, or caregiver burden. Findings support the importance of symptom management, viewing the patient-caregiver dyad as a unit, and the need for future research on control and transition points in chronic illness.

We investigated the relationship between baseline internal health locus of control (IHLC) and 6-year change in physical functioning in 356 older adults. IHLC was strongly related to change in physical functioning for women at all levels of baseline functioning, but only affected men with lower baseline functioning. Cross-sectional analyses indicated no relationship between IHLC and health seeking activities except changing eating patterns when sick. Other findings were that IHLC was related to depression and not having childhood illness for men and to number of negative life events for women. For both genders IHLC was related to the importance placed on good health.

Perceived control has been implicated in the adaptation and well-being of older adults and may be especially relevant to elder caregivers. However, few studies have investigated perceived control within the individual's unique personal, social, and environmental context. This study tested a model representing the hypothesis that perceived control, defined as the perception that salient or valued aspects of one's life are manageable, mediates the objective and subjective aspects of caregiving and caregiver adaptation. Sixty elderly caregivers ranging in age from sixty to eighty-four (M = 69.4) were interviewed. Perceived control had a direct relationship with life satisfaction and depression, and an indirect relationship with subjective symptoms of stress. Wishful thinking coping behavior had a negative relationship with all adaptation variables. Findings are discussed in relation to further refinement and development of a theoretical approach to caregiver research and intervention studies in light of the obtained path model.