The role of locus of control in mediating the relationship between nontraditional factors and academic entitlement

Abstract

The current study further explored the relationship between nontraditional students and academic entitlement. Previous research has established that the presence of more nontraditional factors predicts lower levels of reported academic entitlement. The mechanisms responsible for this connection have not been explored though. The current study examined the impact of locus of control on the relationship between nontraditional factors and academic entitlement. Participants ( N = 332) were asked to report their status on seven nontraditional factors and then completed measures exploring locus of control, academic entitlement, work engagement, and academic motivation. Analyses revealed that nontraditional factors predicted lower levels of external locus of control and external locus of control was negatively correlated with academic entitlement. Evidence for partial mediation was found for this relationship. The impact of these findings on nontraditional students, retention, and academic interventions is discussed.

A serial mediation model reveals the association between parental over-protection and academic entitlement among nursing students

“…The overprotective parenting style over-controls the a child’s daily behaviors and activities, restricting the children for long periods of time and conditioning them to listen to others’ opinions rather than forming their own, thus forming a high sense of external control 35 . Previous studies have shown that parental over-protection is positively correlated with a child’s sense of external control 36 , 37 , external control significantly predicts academic entitlement 29 – 31 , parental over-protection has a positive impact on academic entitlement 26 . Therefore, external control may play a mediating role in the impact of parental over-protection on academic entitlement.…”

“…Therefore, they place strict demands on teachers and schools as being responsible for them achieving well academically. Previous studies have shown that external control significantly predicts academic entitlement 29 – 31 . The formation and development of locus of control is not greatly influenced by congenital genetics; rather, the family environment has been shown to be the main influencing factor 32 .…”