A structural evaluation of the expanded multidimensional health locus of control scale with a diverse sample of caucasian/european, native, and black canadian women.

The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scale is a widely used measure of the factors that people believe exert some control over their health. The purpose of the research reported here is to provide an independent evaluation of the structural properties of the recently expanded MHLC. Specifically we sought to address the issue of the interdependence of the external locus of control scales (Powerful Others, God, and Chance) and the legitimacy of the addition of a measure of God control as a separate subscale in the expanded MHLC. The study is based on an ethnically diverse sample of 371 community women, recruited through a random digit dialing procedure, who responded to all the items on the expanded MHLC. Although, the three external factors (God, Powerful Others, and Chance) are substantially correlated, structural analyses indicate that a four-factor model consisting of the three external scales and the Internal control scale provides the best fit to the observed covariances among the items. We view this result as supporting the addition of the God subscale as a separate dimension of external health locus of control. We also find support in these results for the continued scoring of four subscales on the MHLC rather than combining the three external subscales on one dimension as some have suggested.

Constructive anger verbal behavior predicts blood pressure in a population-based sample.

The creation of an observational Constructive Anger Behavior-Verbal Style Scale (CAB-V) and its relation to resting blood pressure (BP) in an age- and sex-stratified, population-based sample is examined. Participants (N = 1,862) provided hypertension risk factor information, had resting BP assessed multiple times, and completed a videotaped interview, which was later coded for CAB-V and Hostile Style. High CAB-V scores remained a significant predictor of lower resting BP when controlling for the effects of standard hypertension risk factors (age, sex, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol use, smoking status, parental myocardial infarction history, education, and diabetic status) and psychosocial measures (anxiety, depression, hostility, social support, and Hostile Style). This relation also remained when excluding known hypertensive persons. Results suggest that constructive anger expression may have an independent beneficial association with resting BP.

Increasing constructive anger verbal behavior decreases resting blood pressure: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled hostility intervention.

We hypothesized that increasing anger verbal behavior in an assertive, constructively motivated style should decrease resting blood pressure (BP) and that this behavior may be one mechanism through which hostility relates to BP. We tested this hypothesis by conducting secondary analyses on a single-blind, matched, randomized controlled study of hostility modification and BP. A total of 22 high-hostile male patients with coronary heart disease were matched on age and hostility level and were randomly assigned to either an 8-week cognitive-behavioral hostility treatment (n = 10) or an information-control group (n = 12). Patients were reassessed after treatment and at 2-month follow-up on hostility, observed anger expression, and resting BP. We found that decreases in hostility predicted increases in constructive anger behavior-verbal component, which in turn predicted decreases in resting BP at follow-up. Thus, one of the mechanisms underlying the hostility-BP association may be the lack of constructive anger expression.