How do values and beliefs influence when facing a disease?
Values and beliefs they form those styles of representation before the facts that people have and that form the basis of the behavior of each one, both in everyday events, as in those transcendental. In addition, they bring together the basic elements of one's own philosophy of life.
The internalized values and beliefs that a sick person has internalized, and even their family members, will have an important influence on the course and even the cure of a disease.
- Related article: "Health Psychology: history, definition and fields of application"
The importance of values and beliefs in the face of diseases
Values and beliefs have differences in their usefulness: beliefs offer a certain coherence between past and future events, while that the values offer guidelines to behave in unfamiliar situations by offering a reference for adaptive functioning psychosocial.
When a person is ill, they use the resources they have to understand their situation, relying on their beliefs and values. For example, these beliefs would influence the acceptance of a drug treatment in an immovable way for a person with faith in science. However, they would negatively influence the acceptance of pharmacological treatment in a naturalist or skeptical person with traditional medicine.
The subjective feeling of family support is also an important part during the course of the disease, since it is the main nucleus of social functioning.
The Health Control locus
The sense of control that a person has over their disease is very significant and has to do with Rotter's locus of control, to which Wallston et al. (1976) called the Health Control Locus.
These researchers were based on the idea that the potential of an individual to engage in a series of behaviors of health, increases if the subject believes that her actions can influence her health, and has to do with the degree to which the individual values their Health.
The Health Control Locus It is not proposed as a personality trait but as something specific to each health situation, and that changes depending on the situation (Wallston, 1992). It can be internal or external:
- The Internal Health Locus of Control is the belief that one's own health depends on or can be affected by personal behavior, by one's own actions or decisions.
- The External Health Locus of Control implies the belief that health is more influenced by other people, fate, luck, or chance.
Understand the disease
There are several studies that show that the way of understanding the disease significantly influences its course. For example, in a study with multiple sclerosis patients Two negative factors and one positive factor were isolated in the way of experiencing the disease (Mohr et al., 1999):
- Demoralization (feelings of dependency, not wanting to disturb family members, social isolation).
- Deterioration in relationships with others (problems with your partner or to relate to others).
- Encounter of new benefits (more love and support, meaning of life, loss of work stress).
The first two factors were directly related to anxiety, and the factor of deterioration in relationships was also related to hostility.
Pakenham (1999) also conducted a prospective study with these types of patients. It found a better prognosis in patients with less disability (less dependence) and who attributed more importance to strategies aimed at solving problems.
- You may be interested in: "The 10 types of values: principles that govern our lives"
Concluding
In conclusion, many studies with patients with different diseases suggest that the way of understanding the disease, the consequences experienced and the psychological strategies of the patient when facing their disease are variables that significantly condition a psychological state that allows them to live optimizing suffering as much as possible.
Author: Susana Merino García, Specialist Psychologist in Clinical Psychology and Health, member of BarnaPsico.
Bibliographic references:
- Vicente Pelechano (2008) Chronic Diseases and Psychology. Madrid. Ed: Klinik.
- Wallston, K. A., & Wallston, B. 5. (1981). Health locus of control scales. In H. M. Lefcourt (Ed.), Research with the locus of control construct: Vol. 1. Assessment methods (pp. 189ó243). New York: Academic Press.
