Identity and emotional change after treatment for urinary incontinence: A longitudinal study in identity control theory
Abstract
The main objective of this dissertation was to predict changes in emotional health of incontinence patients one year after treatment. The predictors of interest were interaction terms between different levels of activities shortly after diagnosis (and before treatment) and the level of improvement achieved after one year. The rationale for the inclusion of such interaction terms was Burke's approach to identity control theory (ICT) which states that people who are continuously exposed to potentially negative feedback (due to their condition) may suffer identity stress. This identity stress can ultimately lead to lower self-esteem (as measured by self-deprecation and self-worth) because identities, which may have been easily confirmed hitherto are increasingly difficult to confirm; in turn the positive emotional impact from a successful treatment are hypothesized to be larger for those that improve and who are active (physically and socially) despite suffering from the condition. Thus those 81 incontinence patients scheduled for treatment for urinary incontinence, were expected to benefit unequally from treatment: first because treatment success varies and secondly because different activity levels before treatment put sufferers at differential risks for identity misrepresentations. The results show that treatment substantially improved subjective suffering from incontinence. After treatment time spent on physical activity more than doubled. There was strong support for the interaction of social activities with friends and improvement to improve levels of self-deprecation and significant (at alpha = 10%) support for the interaction between physical activity and improvement on feelings of self worth. None of the models which tested the interaction between family related activities and improvement was supported. These results suggest that identity control theory may be a useful tool in analyzing and understanding the complex relationship between disease and mental health. Furthermore the family may be a more forgiving audience, where identity stress is minimal even if unexpected incontinence accidents occur. Lastly, the concepts of self-deprecation and self-worth showed high predictive validity as they reacted differently to the same set of predictors. More theoretical and empirical work is needed to extend identity control theory to include these potentially useful concepts.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Anderson, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Mental health|Public health
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