The Relationship Between Locus of Control and Pain Coping Style

The purpose of the study was to examine pain coping behaviors in relation to the personality variable known as locus of control. The researcher interacted with a group of six hospitalized clients with a diagnosis of a chronic pain state. On the basis of participant-observation data collection, the researcher determined the client\u27s preference for either an active or a passive style of coping with pain. Further data were collected by means of a modified version of Rotter\u27s I-E Scale designed to determine a locus of control score. Through comparison of I-E scores and preferred coping behaviors, it was determined that those subjects with internal locus of control scores selected active coping styles to deal with pain and that the one subject with an external locus of control score chose a passive coping style to deal with pain. A less clear relationship existed between those individuals in the study with neutral scores and their preferred patterns of coping with pain