The role of self-efficacy and locus of control in asthma-related needs and outcomes: a cross-sectional study

Objective: This study sought to identify psychological resources, which are associated with improved asthma outcomes. Methods: A total of 205 patients who reported physician-diagnosed asthma were surveyed between September 2017 and March 2018. Psychological resources included self-efficacy (i.e. the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute required behavior [SE]; assessed by the Short Scale for Measuring General Self-Efficacy Beliefs), and internal and external locus of control (i.e. one's beliefs about whether a given event is the result of one's behavior or of forces outside one's control [LoC]; Scale for Internal External Locus of Control-4). Outcome variables included asthma control (Asthma Control Test), asthma-related quality of life (QoL; Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire-Sydney) and patient needs (Patient Needs in Asthma Treatment Questionnaire). Associations were estimated by linear regressions. Results: We observed that higher self-efficacy and internal LoC scores, but lower scores on the external LoC subscale were associated with improved asthma control (SE: beta = 0.19, p = 0.01; internal LoC: beta = 0.17, p = 0.02; external LoC: beta = -0.18, p = 0.01), better asthma-related QoL (SE: beta = -0.38, p < 0.01; internal LoC: beta = -0.40, p < 0.01; external LoC: beta = 0.46, p < 0.01) and less unmet needs (SE: beta = -0.16, p = 0.02; internal LoC: beta = -0.18, p < .01; external LoC: beta = 0.32, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Our study provides novel evidence on psychological resources among patients with asthma, which are associated with improved asthma outcomes.