Health Locus of Control in a Primary Care Sample of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics

Abstract

This study examined differences between alcoholics and nonalcoholics in a primary care population on the internal, chance, and powerful others sub-scales of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLC). Two hundred eighty subjects were divided into four groups (alcoholics with a family history of alcoholism, alcoholics with no family history of alcoholism, nonalcoholics with a family history of alcoholism, and nonalcoholics with no family history of the disease) based on DSM-III criteria for alcoholism and a family history of alcoholism. There were no differences between groups on the internal and powerful others scales. Nonalcoholics with a family history of alcoholism scored significantly lower on the chance scale than did alcoholics with a family history of the disease.