Objective: To determine the relationship between patients' feelings of control at baseline and psychosocial recovery 6 months after their cardiac event.
Patients: One hundred seventy-six patients who had had myocardial infarction, had undergone coronary artery bypass or both.
Design: In this longitudinal, comparative survey patients with high perceptions of control were compared with those with low perceptions of control at baseline to determine differences in psychosocial recovery 6 months later.
Outcome measures: Psychosocial recovery was operationalized as anxiety, depression, and hostility (measured by Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist) and overall psychosocial adjustment to illness (measured by Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale).
Results: Significant differences were seen in psychosocial recovery between patients with feelings of high control versus those with feelings of low control (p = 0.006). Patients with feelings of high control at baseline were less anxious (p = 0.002), less depressed (p = 0.001), less hostile (p = 0.02), and had better psychosocial adjustment (p = 0.009) at a 6-month follow-up than those with feelings of low control.
Conclusion: Feelings of perceived control are important for psychosocial recovery after a cardiac event.