Smoking, Alienation, and Locus of Control Factors

Abstract

Several studies have reported conflicting results concerning the relationship between Rotter's Locus of Control Scale and smoking behavior. In order to clarify the relationship, college students' responses to Rotter's scale were factor analyzed, and smokers', exsmokers', and nonsmokers' factor scores were compared. A predicted significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers was found on the politically unresponsive world factor, suggesting that the relationship between locus of control and smoking is centered in the concept of alienation rather than “will-power.” Cross-validation data from a community sample were corroborative. It was reasoned that smokers are “alienated from their bodies” and thus have not internalized their intellectual knowledge that smoking endangers their bodies, and that they have (preventative) control over their own death. The findings suggest the usefulness of the concepts of “alienation” and “alienation from one's body” in understanding life-threatening behaviors.