Psychological distress, locus of control, and socio-demographic indicators as predictors of adult physical health: findings from a British cohort

This study set out to explore a longitudinal data set of 4915 adults (49.6% females) examining the effects of parental social status/class (measured at birth), childhood intelligence (at age 10), teenager locus of control (at age 16), psychological distress (at age 30), educational qualifications (at age 34), occupational level (at age 38), number of health conditions experienced and self-assessed physical health measures (all at age 42). Correlational analysis showed all these factors were significantly associated with adult physical health measures. Structural equation modelling showed that, apart from health conditions (which was significantly and negatively associated with the outcome variable), teenager locus of control, adult psychological distress, educational qualifications and occupational levels all had significant and direct effects on adult physical health (indicated by good daily physical functioning, relative absence of pain, and perceived health), accounting for 35% of the total variance. Mediation analyses showed that the effects of parental social status and childhood intelligence on adult physical health in part, mediated through educational qualifications and occupational levels. Childhood intelligence predicted adult physical health mediating through teenager locus of control. Implications and limitations are discussed.