Patients' health beliefs and coping prior to autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation

The aim of this study was to determine the associations between health locus of control (LoC), causal attributions and coping in tumour patients prior to autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Patients completed the Questionnaire of Health Related Control Expectancies, the Questionnaire of Personal Illness Causes (QPIC), and the Freiburg Questionnaire of Coping with Illness. A total of 126 patients (45% women; 54% suffering from a multiple myeloma, 29% from non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and 17% from other malignancies) participated in the study. Cluster analysis yielded four LoC clusters: 'fatalistic external', 'powerful others', 'yeah-sayer' and 'double external'. Self-blaming QPIC items were positively correlated with depressive coping, and 'fate or destiny' attributions with religious coping (P < 0.001). The highest scores were found for 'active coping' in the LoC clusters 'powerful others' and 'yeah-sayer'. External LoC and an active coping style prevail before undergoing autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, whereas the depressive coping is less frequent, associated with self-blaming causal attributions. Health beliefs include causal and control attributions, which can improve or impair the patient's adjustment. A mixture between internal and external attributions seems to be most adaptive.