Effect of illness perception on self-regulatory fatigue in older adult patients with hypertension: chain-mediating role of self-efficacy and coping style

Purpose: Long-term self-control becomes necessary for older adult patients with hypertension to sustain their blood pressure levels and postpone disease progression. Over extended periods, such self-control capacity among patients experiences gradual depletion, which leads to self-regulatory fatigue. Nevertheless, the connection linking disease perception, self-efficacy, coping style, and self-regulatory fatigue remains unexplored in existing studies. The present study sought to examine how disease perception, self-efficacy, and coping style relate to self-regulatory fatigue among older adult patients with hypertension. Methods: Convenience sampling method enabled the recruitment of 416 older adult patients with hypertension from the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Liaoning Province, for this cross-sectional survey. Multiple instruments served as measurement tools, including the general demographic questionnaire, brief illness perception questionnaire, general self-efficacy scale, medical coping modes questionnaire, and self-regulatory fatigue scale. Amos23.0 software facilitated the analysis of the mediation effect. Results: Self-regulatory fatigue receives direct positive influence from disease perception, avoidance, and acceptance-resignation, whereas self-efficacy and confrontation exert direct negative influence upon it. The impact of illness perception on self-regulatory fatigue operates via chain mediating pathways involving self-efficacy, confrontation, avoidance, and acceptance-resignation. Conclusion: The older adult patients with hypertension had higher self-regulatory fatigue level. Positive correlations emerged between self-regulatory fatigue and disease perception, avoidance, as well as acceptance-resignation; diminishing patients' negative emotions toward disease alongside enhancing their treatment confidence contributes to lowering patients' self-regulatory fatigue.