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Causal Attributions in Individuals With Suspected Lung Cancer: Relationships to Illness Coherence and Emotional Responses

University of Michigan School of Nursing, Center for Enhancement and Restoration of Cognitive Function, Ann Arbor, Michigan; rhlehto @umich.edu

Causal-attribution theory focuses on the human need to understand, give meaning to, and ascribe causation to unexpected and unfortunate life events. The aim of the current study was to examine causal attributions among men and women newly diagnosed with suspected lung cancer and to determine the relationships between causal attributions, perceptions of illness coherence, and emotional responses to the illness before and following surgery. Causal attributions were measured by the 16-item Cause scale of the Illness Perception Questionnaire—Revised (IPQ-R). The 42 participants ranged in age from 37 to 83 years and had a broad educational background. Findings demonstrated that individual perceptions of cause were multifactorial, and the most commonly cited cause was personal smoking behaviors. The study suggests that although participants largely viewed themselves as at least somewhat responsible for their illness, in general, they assumed smoking behaviors were contributory in the context of several competing hypotheses. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2007; 13(2), 109-115.

Key Words: causal attributions • lung cancer • coherence

Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, Vol. 13, No. 2, 109-115 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1078390307303112


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