Health locus of control and value for health in smokers and nonsmokers

A representative sample of 11,401 persons completed a questionnaire, including measures of health locus of control, value for health, and smoking frequency. Smokers held stronger internal, chance, and powerful others beliefs than never smokers. Ex-smokers had lower scores on internal and chance dimensions and placed a higher value on their health than smokers. The interaction between chance health locus of control and value for health was a significant predictor of smoking status, suggesting that health value may moderate the relationship between health locus of control and smoking status. Within smokers, the health locus of control dimensions and value for health explained less than 1% of the variance in smoking frequency, with only the chance dimension emerging as a significant predictor