Differences in Ego States, Locus of Control, and Dogmatism between African-American and Anglo-American Undergraduate College Students

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study attempted to identify possible differences between African-American (n = 40) and Anglo-American (n = 40) undergraduate college students (ages 17 to 27) relative to personality variables: (1) ego states as measured by the Ego State Questionnaire (ESQ), an experimenter-constructed instrument; (2) locus of control as measured by the Locus of Control Subscale of the Opinion Scale; and (3) dogmatism as measured by the Dogmatism Subscale of the Opinion Scale. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with the effects of age, sex, and socioeconomic status statistically removed revealed no significant differences between African-American and Anglo-American subjects on the mean vectors of the predictor variables, F(7, 69) = 1.53, p <.17. In other words, there was no statistically significant difference between African-American and Anglo-American undergraduates on any of the ego state, locus of control, or dogmatism measures when the effects of age, gender, and socioeconomic status were controlled for. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) ignoring the effects of age, sex, and socioeconomic status also revealed no significant differences between African-American and Anglo-American undergraduates on any of the ego state, locus of control, or dogmatism measures, E(7,72) = 1.10, p <.37. A one-way MANOVA by gender revealed a significant difference between males and females on the Nurturing Parent ego state. Ways in which taking specific account of this finding might help in designing educational and counseling programs for women and men are discussed. It is recommended that the investigation be replicated with similar populations and that students sampled be from more than one academic institution.