Correlative Study of Depression and Locus of Control in Subjects with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases

This study investigated 1) the depressive state of a group of individuals referred to a pulmonary rehabilitation program and 2) the locus of control (internal vs. external) of that same population. As susceptibility to depression is believed to be a function of experiences with controlling the environment and as locus of control is a construct that links one\u27s perception of events to one\u27s behavior, it was I felt the two may be related. Patients referred to pulmonary rehabilitation program were divided into three groups based upon their pattern of follow-up after referral. A random selection was made from each of these groups for a total of thirty subjects. Descriptive data were gathered and two inventories (Beck Depression Inventory and Rotter\u27s Social Reaction Inventory) were administered. Spearman\u27s rho and Pearson\u27s r were utilized to determine correlation between Depression and Locus of Control (Social Reaction) scores and among the variables. Both null hypotheses were supported: 1) there is no correlation between depression and internal locus of control and 2) there is no correlation between depression and external locus of control. Significant correlations between other variables were found. Recommendations relative to pulmonary rehabilitation programs were presented