Relationship Between Locus of Control and Alcohol and Drug-Related Behaviors in Teenagers

Moderating Effect of Negative Peer Group Climate on the Relation Between Men’s Locus of Control and Aggression Toward Intimate Partners

“…Originally conceptualized by Rotter (1966), locus of control has been defined as the degree to which individuals believe their lives are controlled by external factors (e.g., luck, fate, others) relative to internal factors (e.g., personal characteristics). In particular, individuals with an external locus of control are characterized as yielding to external pressures (e.g., influence of others, societal or group-level norms), allocating responsibility for their outcomes to others, and disregarding personal values to resist social rejection (Cox & Luhrs, 1978; Halloran et al, 1999). An external locus of control has been associated with a variety of maladaptive psychological effects including increased general aggression and depression (P.…”

The effect of perceived control and stress on college students' willingness and intention to binge drink

“…These findings appear to question the assumption that need for control is a universal human drive (Hui & Bateson, 1991), supporting the idea that people with an external locus of control may generally desire to lack control (Burger & Cooper, 1979). Still, intention to binge drink was lower for the congruent/low stress internals (M = 3.28) than the congruent/low stress externals (M = 3.89), suggesting that people with an internal locus of control may still be less apt to use alcohol than those with an external locus of control (Adalbjarnardottir & Rafnsson, 2001;Bearinger & Blum, 1997;Cox & Luhrs, 1978;Hussong & Chassin, 1997;Newcomb & Harlow, 1986;Wills, 1994).…”

“…Numerous studies have shown that perceived control is psychologically beneficial even when that control belief is overestimated, never acted upon, and/or false (e.g., Glass et al; Glass & Singer; Reim et al). Furthermore, perceived control over one's environment has been consistently linked to prevalence of alcohol use (Adalbjarnardottir & Rafnsson, 2001; Barnes & Farrell, 1992;Bearinger & Blum, 1997;Cox & Luhrs, 1978;Hussong & Chassin, 1997;Newcomb & Harlow, 1986;Wills, 1994).…”

“…Low perceived control has consistently been linked with adolescents' vulnerability or propensity to consume alcohol. External locus of control has been found to be positively correlated with a higher likelihood of alcohol use among adolescents and pre-adolescents in the United States (Bearinger & Blum, 1997;Cox & Luhrs, 1978;Hussong & Chassin, 1997;Newcomb & Harlow, 1986;Wills, 1994) and Europe (Adalbjarnardottir & Rafnsson, 2001).…”

“…The current study examined the impact of two specific factors, perceived control and stress, on college students' binge drinking. Both factors have been linked to alcohol use, especially for adolescents (Adalbjarnardottir & Rafnsson, 2001;Baer, Garmezy, McLaughlin, Pokorny, & Wernick, 1987;Barnes & Farrell, 1992;Bearinger & Blum, 1997;Cox & Luhrs, 1978;Higgins & Marlatt, 1975;Houlihan, Gibbons, & Gerrard, 2008;Hussong & Chassin, 1997;Kidorf & Lang, 1999;Newcomb & Harlow, 1986;Wills, 1986Wills, , 1990Wills, , 1994Wills, Sandy, Yaeger, Cleary, & Shinar, 2001). The current study was designed to experimentally manipulate college students' perceived control and stress levels and examine how these psychological states interact to influence binge drinking.…”