Impact of Depression, Resilience, and Locus of Control on Adjustment of Health-Related Expectations in Aging Individuals With Chronic Illness

ObjectivesQuality of Life (QoL) depends on the discrepancy between desired and current experiences (referred to as the Calman gap), thus in chronic illness, adjustment of expectations and interpretation of the current situation are crucial. Depression is known to influence this gap, and the present study aims to further assess the role of resilience and health locus of control (HLC). MethodsA total of 94 patients (age M = 71.8, SD = 7.7 years) with neurological disorders were screened via telephone regarding depression, resilience and HLC. Current and desired state of several life domains were assessed, such as Fitness, General Health, Pain, Daily Activities, Finances, Leisure, and Family. Elastic net regularization and analyses of variance were used to disentangle the impact of depression, resilience, HLC, and sociodemographic factors on the perception of current and desired state, and the gap between both. ResultsA gap was present for all domains but largest for pain. Interpretation of the current state was linked to desired state, HLC, and age. All gaps were related to depression; certain domains were in addition influenced by resilience, HLC and sociodemographic factors. Of note, for most domains, patients did not select the highest possible desired state. ConclusionOlder patients with neurological disorders report a gap between current and desired state for many aspects of life. Adjusting expectations is beneficial in the face of declining health, but a reasonably increased desired state may positively influence the perception of the current situation. Depression negatively influences the interpretation of the Calman gap.

Automated summary

This study explores the impact of depression, resilience, and health locus of control (HLC) on the perception of the difference between desired and current experiences in patients with chronic neurological disorders. The findings suggest that there is a gap between current and desired states for various aspects of life, and this gap is influenced by depression, resilience, HLC, age, and sociodemographic factors. Adjusting expectations and maintaining a reasonably increased desired state may help improve the perception of the current situation, especially in older patients with declining health.