Diabetes Management: Assessing Health Locus of Control

The present investigation was done to assess how health locus of control effects management of type 2 diabetes. The sample of the present study comprised of 200 type 2 diabetic patients. They were selected from the Out Patient Department (OPD) of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University. The sample consisted of 84 male type 2 diabetic patients, and 116 female type 2 diabetic patients. The sample was further divided into controlled and uncontrolled diabetic patients on the basis of HbA1C levels. 18 item Multidimensional scale developed by K.A Wallston et al. (1978) was used to measure health locus of control. Findings of the study suggested that male diabetic patients scored higher on internal health locus of control, whereas female diabetic patients scored higher on chance health locus of control. Educated diabetic patients scored higher than uneducated diabetic patients on internal health locus of control. Further it was found that participants high on internal health locus of control better manage their diabetes and thus, suffer from less complications related to type 2 diabetes. It was concluded from the present study that health locus of control plays an important role in the effective management of type 2 diabetes.