Primary and secondary control in academic development: gender-specific implications for stress and health in college students1

Abstract

During the first year of college, students are faced with numerous educational and personal stressors which can negatively impact their psychological and physical health. The present study examined the benefits of primary and secondary control for self-rated health in students based on Rothbaum, Weisz, and Synder's (1982) dual-process model of control, and examined stress and gender as potential mediating variables. College students’ (n=888) primary and secondary academic control and perceived stress were assessed in the first semester, and self-rated global health, illness symptoms, and illness-related behaviors were assessed at the end of the academic year. For males, primary control was indirectly related to better overall health and fewer symptoms through lower stress levels, and both primary and secondary control directly corresponded to lower illness behaviors. For females, only secondary control was related to better overall health and illness symptoms, albeit indirectly through reduced stress. The mediational roles of stress and gender in health research on primary/secondary control and potential control-enhancing interventions are discussed.