Locus of control and self-esteem in depressed, low-income African-American women.
Depressed, schizophrenic, and well low-income, African-American women were studied in an effort to extend previous hypotheses of the association between depression and the two personality constructs of low self-esteem and externality to this population. Subjects were 113 low income African-American women including 26 who had been diagnosed as depressed, 54 diagnosed as schizophrenic, and 33 well women. Locus of control was measured with the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale (Nowicki & Duke, 1974). Self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). Contrary to predictions, a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but not depression, was associated with more external locus of control. For self-esteem, severity of disturbance, rather than diagnosis, seemed to be of primary importance. Also, lower self-esteem scores were correlated significantly with higher levels of externality for both depressed and schizophrenic women but not for well controls. The present study indicates that self-esteem and locus of control are related to depression differently in low socio-economic status (SES) African-American women than in previously studied middle SES depressed whites. The findings emphasize the need for more normative studies to clarify the complex relations among SES, race, emotional disturbance, self-esteem, and locus of control.
Goodman
S H
SH
Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322.
Cooley
E L
EL
Sewell
D R
DR
Leavitt
N
N
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D015144:Southeastern United States; D014505:Urban Population