PART 1
Health Locus of Control
PART 2
CONCLUSIONS
METHODS
DISCUSSION
APPENDIXES
Part I; Belief and Health
Health Locus of Control
The Health Locus of Control scale (Wallston, Wallston, Kaplan, & Maides, 1976) was
formulated after Rotter's I-E scale. Rotter's I-E (internal-external) scale has been used extensively
as a measure of Locus of Control (LOC). Its theoretical basis relies on individual differences
between how people perceive events: as a result of "their own behavior or enduring
characteristics" (internal), or as being controlled by some other variable like chance, god, or an
authority (external). According to Rotter's Social Learning Theory, on which the scale is based,
the chances of any given behavior occurring is a function of the expectation that the behavior will
elicit a reward and of the value that this reward has for the individual. The I-E scale predicts that
internals and externals will differ in the behaviors they engage in because they have different
expectations of reward.
Internality, indeed, is related to a number of adaptive behaviors:
In examining several locus of control studies, Rotter (1966) found strong support for the hypothesis that individuals who have a strong belief that they can control their own destinies are likely to: (a) be more aware of environmental factors that may influence future behavior, (b) take steps to improve environmental conditions, (c) place greater value on skill or achievement reinforcement, and (d) be resistive to conformity and other subtle attempts to influence their behavior (see Rotter, 1966). -McLaughlin, & Saccuzzo, 1997, p. 269.Externality, conversely, is associated with Rotter's concept of 'learned helplessness' and derived from a low expectation of reward/ control over reward.
Rotter's model has been very successful as a generalized locus of control scale predicting
variables such as depression, but falls short in specific locus of control domains like academic,
interpersonal, and socio-political LOC (Smith, Dugan, &Trompenaars, 1997). The Health
Locus of Control scale (HLC) (Wallston, et al., 1976) has emerged as a measure of locus
of control specific to the health domain. It is this instrument which I am using in this study to
predict variables specific to the area of health.
The social learning theory is likely to exert influence in the health domain as well. Internals
who perceive that they retain power over health related rewards are prone to obtain proper
nutrition, exercise, rest, stress reduction, and to adopt prevention/ enhancement strategies to
maintain/ improve the state of their health. Externals who believe that chance, god, or
the medical industry, etc., control their health are liable to exhibit behaviors which are less action
oriented (more reaction oriented), and appropriate responses to the state of their health may not
occur. Learned helplessness may therefore also occur in the health arena manifest in an external
HLC. The data I present here has a clear Western bias, and is intended to apply to individuals
immersed in this culture. An external LOC is more adaptive for collectivist nations (Hamid,
1994), so an external HLC may be more adaptive in certain cultures as well.
Those who "welcome challenge and are willing to commit themselves and take control in their
daily encounters (Kobasa, 1990, 1987, 1979; Maddi, 1990)", characteristics of 'hardiness',
demonstrate better health (Comer, 1998, p. 358). Nicolas Marlowe (1998) suggests that direct
coping rather than avoidance coping is related to a lower degree of headaches post stressful
events. HLC is another aspect of personality which may be related to such immune responses. Its
conceptual basis for internals seems to bear similarity to hardiness and direct coping.
Non-hardiness, and avoidance coping seem more representative of the external style of HLC.
Personality variables like these have been utilized by many researchers to explain individual
differences in response to stressful events, and any psychosomatic responses that incur.
