[Effect of subjective theories on the coping with illness process--exemplified by patients with chronic pancreatitis].

The concept of locus of control, as a basic aspect of subjective self-perception and world perception, has turned out to be an important construct in the area of psychosomatic medicine for the explanation and prediction of illness-relevant behaviour. This study investigates the influence of illness-specific locus of control on the course of the disease in patients suffering from chronic pancreatitis. While most investigations in this area of research are methodologically restricted to paper-and-pencil questionnaires, the present study registered the concept of locus of control within the metatheoretical framework of "research programme subjective theories". This programme focuses on the capacity of patients to create their own models of their relationship with the world. The procedure involves two stages of research: In the first phase of communicative validation the patient is interviewed about the possibility to influence the course of his disease. A few days later, in a second session, the patient models together with the interviewer a structure of his subjective theory. In the second stage, the phase of explanatory validation, this model will be tested using empirical methods for validation. Compared to a paper-and-pencil questionnaire this procedure means more expenditure for research. On the other hand the results are detailed and specified. Hence, it can be shown that patients dispose over a set of subjective theories on how to influence the course of their illness. These subjective theories determine the patients' coping styles. Methodological and theoretical consequences for coping research and treatment of chronic diseases are discussed.