title: Cognitive and personality factors in the delay of gratification of hemodialysis patients.
abstract: On the basis of Mischel's (1984) social learning analysis of the process of delay of gratification in children and in line with Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory, we developed a model of delay of gratification in adults and tested it on dialysis patients who were continuously required to comply with a stringent regimen of fluid-intake to keep alive. We hypothesized that patients' self-evaluations of their past compliance and their efficacy expectations would be associated with their actual delay behavior. Underlying these process-regulating cognitions would be stable competencies, such as learned resourcefulness (i.e., one's self-control skills). Fifty-three dialysis patients self-evaluated their fluid intake compliance, their efficacy expectations, and their health beliefs. Resourcefulness was assessed by Rosenbaum's Self-Control Schedule. Actual fluid-intake compliance was reliably assessed by the mean body weight increase between dialyses during the 3-month period prior to the study and during two follow-up periods. The results supported the model. On the one hand, self-efficacy expectations were related to persistence with the fluid diet and on the other hand to subjects' self-evaluation of their past adherence behavior as well as to their resourcefulness. Although the path model suggested a causal pattern, the correlational nature of the study precluded any conclusions on cause-effect relationship.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010551:Personality; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept