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Locus of control response to the chronic pain, Culture based or personality based?

If you got a chronic pain that lasts more than three months, what’s your reaction to it? Paper by Bates: “Control, Culture and Chronic pain.” tried to explain that the “ locus of control” beliefs influence people’s responses to the chronic pain experiences. Furthermore, the LOC style has this intimate relationship with the ethnic or cultural background.

Form comparing the research data from New England and Puerto Rico patients, Bates etc concluded that after one years of emergency reaction of the chronic pain, then they would developed in two directions: positive adaptation and negative adaptation which depends on the individual internal LOC or External LOC style, that the definition as in the paper: “An internal LOC style involves a reported cognitive perception or expectation that life events and circumstances are the result of one’s own actions. By comparison, an external LOC style includes the perception or expectation that life events and circumstances are beyond one’s own control, and rest in the hands of fate, chance, or other people.”

Even though the results consistent with the conclusion, I have some doubts related to the case study been provided:

“However, she never gave up her dream. She married her first husband when she was in her late teens and soon thereafter had a son. She reported repeated physical and psychological abuse by her first husband. Nonetheless, while married to him, Maria finally was able to attend and finish high schoolover her husband’s strenuous objections and despite repeated beatings. During that period Maria had to hide her school books from her husband and study by flashlight after he had gone to sleep to avoid his anger. With great determination, she struggled to leave this first marriage and continue her education. Living in extreme poverty at the time, she managed to overcome many obstacles to obtain a divorce and complete undergraduate and graduate degrees while caring for her son. Maria said, “I was determined and fighting to get that degree.” She succeeded and became a health professional. Later she married another health professional and she said this 30-year marriage was a wonderful partnership full of love and caring. After completing her advanced degree, Maria worked in a health-care field until semi-retirement about 5 years ago. She still engages in consultations and volunteer activities.”

This is one of the typical cases that was presented in the paper, what make me wondering is which way that the patients will response to the pain is more depend on their personal will. Whether they have the will power or not to change their socioeconomic status, which is one of the most important influencing factors that may contribute to the culture composition.

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