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Mental health and locus of control: SCL‐90‐R and Levenson's IPC scales
Author(s) -
Holder Elaine E.,
Levi Daniel J.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(198809)44:5<753::aid-jclp2270440514>3.0.co;2-a
Subject(s) - psychology , locus of control , mental health , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry
College students were given the SCL‐90‐R depression and anxiety subscales and Levenson's Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance locus of control scales. For the total sample ( N = 166), subjects who were more internal had lower scores on the SCL‐90‐R subscales. Higher SCL‐90‐R scores were associated with the belief that life was controlled by powerful others and chance. The results support some previous findings that all three of Leven‐son's scales are associated with measures of maladjustment, with internality negatively correlated and chance and powerful others orientations positively correlated with such measures. The results did not support Rotter's suggestion that the often‐cited relationship between maladjustment and externality might result primarily from the presence of defensive externals within the external group.