Predicting illness behavior: health anxiety mediated by locus of control.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of 3 dimensions of Health Locus of Control (HLOC) on the relationship between health anxiety and illness behavior. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey study of 202 college women. Path analysis and bootstrapping techniques were used to test the significance of mediated models. RESULTS: The indirect effect of Powerful Others HLOC was significant (β = .06, p < .001), and together health anxiety and Powerful Others HLOC explained 27% of the variance in illness behavior. CONCLUSION: Health anxiety and illness behavior are common problems in college women, and that Powerful Others HLOC is a key mechanism underlying the relationship between health anxiety and illness behavior.