Mental health and locus of control: SCL-90-R and Levenson's IPC scales.
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 Levenson'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.
Holder
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Psychology and Human Development Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 93407.
Levi
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010556:Personality Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors