Attributions about cause of illness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Karin F Hoth; Frederick S Wamboldt; Russell Bowler; Barry Make; Kristen E Holm

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2010.10.005

Back

Attributions about cause of illness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Attributions about cause of illness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Karin F Hoth, Frederick S Wamboldt, Russell Bowler, Barry Make and Kristen E Holm

Journal of psychosomatic research, Vol.70(5), pp.465-472

05/2011

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2010.10.005

PMCID: PMC3081443

PMID: 21511077

View Online

Abstract

Patients' beliefs about the causes of their illness have been associated with emotional adjustment and behavioral outcomes in several medical conditions; however, few studies have examined illness attributions among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the current study, patterns of patients' causal attributions for COPD were identified and examined in relation to health behaviors and symptoms. Three-hundred and ninety-four patients with COPD and >10 pack year history of smoking completed a self-report questionnaire that included the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R). A factor analysis of the IPQ-R cause items using principal axis factoring yielded four individual items (i.e., smoking, heredity, pollution, and personal behavior) and one large factor that was primarily driven by psychological attributions. Ninety-three percent of patients agreed or strongly agreed that smoking was a cause of their COPD. Higher scores on the large IPQ-R factor were associated with reduced quality of life (r=.25, P<.001) and symptoms of anxiety (r=.33, P<.001) and depression (r=.31, P<.001), indicating that patients who attributed their COPD to psychological factors were more likely to have poorer emotional adjustment and quality of life. Our finding of one large factor with several stand-alone items is in contrast with previous research that has derived a multifactor structure for the cause items of the IPQ-R in other chronic illness populations. This difference may be due to the importance of smoking, environmental exposures, and heredity in the development of COPD. Future research should expand upon these specific attributions in COPD.

Humans

Middle Aged

Male

Factor Analysis, Statistical

Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - etiology

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice

Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - psychology

Aged, 80 and over

Adult

Female

Perception

Surveys and Questionnaires

Aged

Quality of Life - psychology

Chronic Disease

Details

Title: Subtitle: Attributions about cause of illness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Creators: Karin F Hoth - Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80207, USA. hothk@njhealth.org
Frederick S Wamboldt
Russell Bowler
Barry Make
Kristen E Holm
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of psychosomatic research, Vol.70(5), pp.465-472
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2010.10.005
PMID: 21511077
PMCID: PMC3081443
NLM abbreviation: J Psychosom Res
ISSN: 0022-3999
eISSN: 1879-1360
Publisher: England
Grant note: K23 HL095658 / NHLBI NIH HHS F32HL083687 / NHLBI NIH HHS F32 HL083687 / NHLBI NIH HHS UL1 RR025780 / NCRR NIH HHS 1 UL1 RR025780 / NCRR NIH HHS F32 HL083687-01 / NHLBI NIH HHS T32 MH015442 / NIMH NIH HHS K23 HL091049 / NHLBI NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 05/2011
Academic Unit: Psychiatry; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984004085802771

Metrics

38 Record Views

19 Times Cited - Web of Science