Relationship between health beliefs and psychological variables in diabetic patients.

The present paper is focused on the relationship between psychological variables and health beliefs in 93 diabetic men. A Diabetes Health Belief Scale was used to assess general health motivation, treatment beneficial, severity, susceptibility, psychological barriers, cues to action, and structural elements. The psychological variables included two measures of locus of control, depression, somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsiveness, anxiety, self-esteem, and attitudes toward diabetes, doctor, and medical care. Ten of the 11 psychological variables were correlated with various aspects of health beliefs. This indicates the extent to which the health beliefs are enmeshed with the psychological dynamics of the person. It would seem important to take such a psychological profile into consideration when attempting to understand and even alter the health beliefs.