Confidence: the subjects were asked to rate their confidence in performing breast
self-examination as a measure of their self-efficacy.
Contact with cancer: the subjects were asked whether or not a member of their
family had ever had cancer.3 Health locus of control (the independent variables). The subjects completed the
18-item Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLC) (Wallston et al.
1978). The questionnaire was used to provide a measure of internal control (e.g. ‘If
I get sick it is my own behaviour which determines how soon I get well again’),
external control/powerful others (e.g. ‘Whenever I don’t feel well I should consult my
doctor’) and external control/chance (e.g. ‘Good health is largely a matter of good
luck’).
4 Emotional control (the independent variables). The subjects completed the 21-
item Courtauld Emotional Control scale developed by Watson and Greer (1983). This
consists of three subscales to measure the extent to which someone expresses or
controls (i) anger, (ii) depressed mood and (iii) anxiety.
Demographic characteristics In addition, subjects completed questions about their
age, social class, marital status and religion.
Results
The results were analysed to assess the role of the different social psychological models in
predicting screening behaviour for both breast and cervical cancer. Originally, individual
correlations were evaluated between the dependent variables (breast cancer and cervical
cancer screening behaviour) and the subjects’ demographic characteristics, their health
beliefs, health locus of control and their emotional control.
Breast self-examination
The results showed that breast self-examination was more frequent among those
who attended for smear tests; negatively related to age and social class, a high belief
in the costs of attendance for treatment, a high belief in the role of powerful others; and
positively related to marital status, benefits of treatment, health motivation, knowledge
of breast and cervical cancer.
Cervical screening behaviour
The results indicated that attending for cervical smears was positively related to religion,
marital status, perceived benefits of treatment, health motivation, knowledge of breast
and cervical cancer; and negatively associated with social class, perceived barriers and
costs and a belief in the role of chance.
The results were then analysed to assess the overall best predictors of screening
behaviour using multiple-regression analysis. This type of analysis puts a multitude of
variables into the equation to see which combination of the independent variables is the
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