Associations of Self-Control with Self-Management in Stroke Survivors: A Cross-Sectional Study

To identify and explore the latent categories of self-control and clarify the relationship between self-control and self-management of stroke survivors under different categories.

This cross-sectional study was conducted using a general information questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Dual-Mode Self-Control Scale, and the Stroke Self-Management Scale to measure sociodemographic data, self-control, and self-management. The questionnaires were administered face-to-face, and a convenience sampling method was used to collect the data. A total of 519 stroke survivors from a tertiary hospital in Henan Province, China, were included. Data were analyzed using latent profile analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis H test.

The four-profile model was the most suitable. It was named as follows: low impulse-high control group (25.0%), low impulse-low control group (39.7%), high impulse-high control group (24.7%), and high impulse-low control group (10.6%). The self-management scores of the low impulse and high control group were significantly higher than those of the other three groups.

Stroke survivors demonstrate moderate levels of self-control. In particular, patients with ambivalent self-control psychologies are noteworthy as they require strategies to address this contradictory psychological situation. Healthcare providers should consider the unique self-control characteristics of stroke survivors to assist them in enhancing their self-control abilities. Future research should use more objective assessment methods to examine long-term changes in self-control among stroke survivors and their relationships with self-management.