Role of Anger and Health Locus of Control in Predicting Adjustment to Cancer

  Cancer is a global problem and the third cause of death among Iranian people. Considering the chronicity of cancer, adjustment to it is one of the effective factors on the outcomes of the treatment. In this study, the role of anger and health locus of control predicting adjustment in cancer patients is examined. This work is a descriptive - correlational study. All the cancer patients referred to Imam Reza and Ghazi Tabatabaei hospitals for medical care at Tabriz, Iranin Summer and Fall 2016 comprised the statistical population of this study. The sample included 100 patients which had been selected via purposive sampling method. They were asked to respond to questionnaires of demographic information, the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer, the Multidimensiinal Inventory and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scale. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS20 using tests of Pearson correlation and multivariate regression. Pearson correlation test indicated that the adjustment to cancer had a negative correlation with the anger arousal (r= -0.51; P<0.001), the rage contentious situations (r= -0.24; P<0.05), the hostile attitude (r= -0.41; P<0.001) and anger in (r = -0.43; P<0.001) and positive correlation with the internal locus of control (r= 0.25; P<0.05). The results of regression analysis revealed that 34% of the total variance of adjustment to cancer was explained by anger including anger arousal and anger in, and 10% of it was explained by internal locus of control. The results indicated that the anger including anger arousal and anger in plays a considerable role in adjustment to cancer. According to the findings, health locus of control does not have a considerable role in predicting adjustment to cancer.