Learned helplessness as an interacting variable with self-care agency: testing a theoretical model

This article describes the theoretical development and initial testing of a model outlining the interaction of the concepts of self-care agency and learned helplessness in healthy working adults. Orem's theory of self-care and the reformulated learned helplessness theory are discussed as the theoretical basis for the study. The self-care agency conditioning factors, age and gender, were examined for relationships to the main variables. In a descriptive, correlational design, the hypothesis, that learned helplessness was inversely related to self-care agency, was supported (r = -.57). Neither age nor gender was related to main variables in the population. Implications for nursing research, self-care theory clarification, and nursing practice are discussed.