Dissertation
The impact of locus of control on the perceptions and interactions of mental health professionals with managed care organizations
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
1999
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00009806
Abstract
Managed care is a force that is invading every aspect of an individual's medical treatment and whose impact is felt by patients and the persons providing the services. In this study the role of managed care in the work lives of mental health professionals was investigated. The goals were to examine partial hospital employees' attitudes and opinions toward managed care involvement at their workplaces and explore the association of an employee's locus of control with his or her view of managed care organizations. Work stressors and coping techniques were also addressed. Three hundred employees from 60 partial hospital sites throughout Pennsylvania received surveys. One hundred thirteen surveys, a 33% return, were used for this research. The survey consisted of six forms which included demographics, Attitudes to Managed Care (developed by this author), Work Locus of Control Scale (Spector, 1988), Abbreviated Measure of Internal-External Locus of Control (Valecha & Ostrom, 1974), Daily Hassles Scale (Kanner, Coyne, Schaefer, & Lazarus, 1981) and the COPE (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). The study did not support the hypotheses that general locus of control and work locus of control would be significantly associated nor that either type of locus of control would significantly correlate with managed care attitudes. Attitudes to Managed Care did not significantly coffelate with employee demographic variables. There was also no significant association between coping techniques or work hassles with attitudes to managed care. However, a very specific measure of control, the question of whether the respondent has control over managed care, did correlate significantly with attitudes to managed care. This study also supported research regarding the tendency toward internality in mental health professionals, and that coping techniques, such as planning, are often used by Internals. Follow up research with more partial site employees is encouraged. Interestingly, the education levels, training, and work experience of the employees of partial hospitals may be quite different from other mental health settings, such as private practice, and thus these dynamics may be quite unique.
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Details
- Title
- The impact of locus of control on the perceptions and interactions of mental health professionals with managed care organizations
- Creators
- Lisa Merryl Stein
- Contributors
- Lamia Barakat (Advisor) - Drexel University, Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- viii, 80 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021889112704721