title: Assistive device use in visually impaired older adults: role of control beliefs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigate whether psychological control, conceptually framed within the life-span theory of control by Heckhausen and Schulz, drives assistive device use in visually impaired elders. In particular, we expect the two primary control modes differentiated in the life-span theory of control (i.e., selective primary and compensatory primary control) to be positively related to assistive device use. We present cross-sectional as well as repeated measures analyses.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed a sample of 71 participants (age, M = 79.5 years) suffering from age-related macular degeneration at two measurement occasions covering a 1-year interval. In addition to the application of a standardized control questionnaire based on the life-span theory of control distinctions of different control modes, we measured assistive device use as the reported number of devices used, based on a given list.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On the bivariate level, we could find the theoretically expected relation between selective primary control and selective compensatory control only for the analyses at Time 1. We used multiple regression models to acknowledge overlapping variance beneath the different control modes; we did this separately for both measurement occasions. Consistent with our expectation, we found selective primary control to be a significant predictor of assistive device use at Time 1, whereas after a 1-year period of disease progression, compensatory primary control took over at Time 2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings provide empirical support for the assumption that educational programs related to assistive device use in visually impaired elders also should take psychological control issues more strongly into consideration.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Hans-Werner
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Wahl
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schilling
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Burmedi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008268:Macular Degeneration; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012656:Self-Help Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities