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It Is Possible That The Differences Between The Current Study And The ...

It is possible that the differences between the current study and the evidence obtained from relevant literature are the consequence of this extreme methodological variation.
Subsequent research should be conducted to further assess the potential effects of labelling on the attribution of the causes of illness. This is important given that research has shown that labelling can affect the way that health professionals and lay people treat hospitalised individuals (e.g. Jason, Taylor, Stepanek & Plioplys, 2001).As little research has been conducted on individual differences in the attribution of the causes of illness (Marteau & Senior, 1997), then this should also be a focus of subsequent works. For example, it may be interesting to compare these results to that of an older sample, or one with a broader demographic.An interesting extension to this study would also be to examine how past attributions influence subsequent attributions. This study did not assess whether the participants had any prior knowledge of the illnesses examined or whether they had spend any of their life ill themselves. Such factors should be examined in subsequent research as it is possible they may have a degree of influence.It may also be interesting to focus further on the differences between health and illness specifically. Herzlich (1973) interviewed 80 people about the general causes of health and illness and found that health is regarded as internal to the individual and illness is seen as something that comes into the body from the external world. It is also important to assess the conviction with which these beliefs are held. For example it is likely that serious illnesses with generate more frequent attributions but that these will be held with less conviction.

In summary, this study has shown that the actual causes of illness are not associated with the causes attributed by lay individuals. Participants had a general tendency to attribute the three conditions to psychological causes, regardless of whether or not a label was provided. It is suggested that this may be the consequence of cultural socialisation into the belief that illness are caused by factors such as stress.This study also observed that an internal LOC was associated with an increased liklihood of the attribution of illnesses to psychological causes. It is presumed that this is due to a general tendency for such individuals to see themselves as personally responsible for the events occurring in their lives. It is important to continue the study of causal health attributions as they can have substantial influence on adjustment, depression and also on future health related behaviours.
References
Banks, L., Morgan, I. I. I., Goggin, W. C. (1983). The relationship of Locus of Control and Attribution to Depression. Viewed online on 25th September 2006 at: http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?

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