Social Support, Health Locus of Control and Psychological Acceptance as Predictors of Perceived Quality of Life among Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Diabetic patients carry enormous public health burden thus making the identification of risk factors for this disorder an important health issue. This study was aimed at investigating social supports, health locus of control and psychological acceptance as predictors of perceived quality of life (PQoL) among diabetic patients. Self-efficacy and self-determination theories provided theoretical framework while cross-sectional survey design was adopted for data collection. Convenient sampling technique was used to select 315 participants that responded to instruments on social support, health locus of control, psychological acceptance and PQoL. Data were analysed using standard multiple regression analysis and independent t-test. Results showed that health locus of control significantly predicted PQoL. Also there as a joint prediction of social support, health locus of control, and psychological acceptance on PQoL. Also, patients with internal health locus of control reported higher score on PQoL than patients with external health locus of control. It is suggested that more training initiatives in quality of life among diabetic patients should be intensified.