Psychological adjustment to cancer in a collective culture

We examined the associations between social support, health locus of contro l, neuroticism, and psychological adjustment (PA) in 152 Hong Kong Chinese patients. Our objective was to assess hypotheses relevant to the cohesive f amily structure, and the belief in external sources of control that pervade this culture. Use of social support by individuals who reported reliable s upport, and internal locus of control (ILOC) associated positively, and neu roticism associated negatively with PA. The independent variables accounted for up to 39% of the variance in PA measures. Our findings provide rare in formation about coping with serious illness in a non-Western culture. They illustrate the centrality of family relationships in Chinese culture. They suggest that even in a culture where supernatural beliefs are widespread, I LOC relates positively and "chance" beliefs relate negatively to adjustment . Finally they support the importance of controlling for neuroticism in exa mining stress.