Locus of Control Research on Alcoholic Populations: A Review. I. Development, Scales, and Treatment

Abstract

Research literature dealing with the relationships of locus of control to alcoholism and the treatment of alcoholism is reviewed. The review includes a discussion of some of the scales used in this research, the relative locus of control of alcoholics compared with controls, the change in locus of control during treatment of alcoholics, and the relationship of locus of control to treatment success. Much of the research is inconclusive. Research on the control orientation of alcoholics compared to controls has had equivocal results, but the better designed studies tend to find no difference or externality in alcoholics. Most studies find that alcoholics become more internal over treatment, but the relationship of locus of control to treatment success is unclear. Methodological difficulties have included problems with sampling, selecting appropriate controls, assuming homogeneity of alcoholics as a group, and assuming linearity and unidimensionality of the scales. A number of needed studies which would clarify some of the questions are suggested.

Alcoholism Treatment and the Relationship of Native American Cultural Values to Recovery

“…One of the major reasons why we have war is because people don't take enough interest in politics). Table 32 gives a comparison of the LOC scores in this study with those presented by Rohsenow and O'Leary (1978). Comparisons of externality scores indicates that the alcohol ic and control subsamples measured in this study are higher than those reviewed in locus of control research on alcohol ic populations.…”

“…It is important to discuss this particular measure if for no other reason than it is one of the most widely used assessments in alcoholism research (Rohsenow and O'Leary 1978). This scale has raised interesting questions because it has produced opposite results to those originally hypothesized for alcoholics.…”

“…One is that alcohol ics may not only bel ieve they can control their drinking, but may also have learned that they have a readily available method to control their moods and emotions as well. Rohsenow and O'Leary (1978) question the common assumption that internal control is necessarily a desired aim for alcohol ics. They suggest that perhaps a "happy medium" between the low scores of alcohol ics and the high scores of Interestingly, it was these alcohol ic Native American males who completed the treatment program that has the lowest I-E scores (X = 6.1).…”

The Chinese version of the drinking-related locus-of-control scale: A confirmatory factor analysis

“…The behavior of alcohol consumption is caused by the physical environment and psychological situations of individuals (Rohsenow & O'Leary, 1978). Donovan and O'Leary (1978) indicated that, according to social learning theory, the probability of behavior is an expectancy that reinforcement will follow potential response and that the individual perceives the reinforcement value and the nature of psychological situations in which the behavior is to occur.…”

Genetics and alcoholism among at‐risk relatives I: Perceptions of cause, risk, and control

“…In past alcoholism literature, feelings of control, or power have been most often measured using the health locus of control scale [Rohsenow and O'Leary, 1978;Morrison and Schuckit, 1983;Huckstadt, 1987;Dean and Edwards, 1990;Fleming and Barry, 1991;Werner and Broida, 1991;Neff, 1994;Marchiori et al, 1999]. Health locus of control is conceptualized as a personality trait rather than a belief, such as fatalism or perceived personal control.…”