Dimensions of control: a mediational analysis of the stress-health relationship

Understanding the relationship between stress, control, and physical health in elderly populations is particularly important because aging individuals may experience more environmental challenges to their sense of control and be more physiologically vulnerable to the effects of diminished control. There exists a multiplicity of control measures, assessing such diverse aspects as power, autonomy, internal/external control, mastery, and perceived control. An elderly sample consisting of 286 individuals (75.9% female) between the ages of 60 and 97 (M=76.20, SD=7.36) was used to explore the confluence of various types of control and their relationship to stress and health outcomes. Principal component factor analysis was conducted on six measures of control-related behavior. Self-Efficacy (42.6% of the variance), a composite of four measures, refers to people's beliefs about their ability to exercise control over themselves and their environment; Power/Autonomy (21.5%), a composite of two scales, describes the desire to control others and exercise self-determination. Regression analyses revealed that Self-Efficacy mediated the relationship between stress (life events and perceived stress) and health (self-reported health, chronic conditions, somatic complaints, and functional status), but Power/Autonomy did not; a model-fitting analysis of latent traits is underway. Results suggest that a sense of efficacy is the lens through which older adults view stress, affecting both the way it is interpreted and managed, ultimately impacting health outcomes.