External Loci Research Articles

Translation of Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales, Form C in Patients with Headache.

The MHLC-C is a condition-specific instrument measuring the internal and external loci of control beliefs, adaptable to various health conditions. Translated into Swedish and Chinese, this study aims to translate the MHLC-C into German using the FACID-Method. The English version is validated and reliable; the German version requires these validation steps.

Self-Esteem Strategy for Students Who Are Visually Impaired

Abstract Self-esteem is a set of beliefs in oneself that has both external and internal loci (Tuttle & Tuttle, 2004). It is important for an individual who is blind or visually impaired to develop positive self-esteem so that they can adjust appropriately to life’s ups and downs. There are many ways to assist a student in the development of positive self-esteem. This article describes an activity that showed a student her positive traits.

Service users’ complaints concerning social workers’ professional functioning: Arabs in Israel as a case study

ABSTRACT Sparse professional literature on complaints against social workers, focuses on a few specific variables, discussing them from a universal/contextless viewpoint. This study considers such complaints as a holistic (integrative) issue which should be studied within particular contexts. The research traced service users’ complaints against social workers, investigating social workers’ conceptions concerning the extent and type of complaints, and the social workers’ coping mechanisms. A phenomenological approach elicited data from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 social workers from Arab welfare bureaus in Israel. Findings indicated that formal complaints are rare despite many grievances (tazamur) concerning the service. There are almost no complaints concerning serious offences, because in addition to formal punishment, community cultural punishments are severe. Complaints can be lodged in eight regulatory bodies, inside or outside the bureau, distinguished as either educational or disciplinary in policy. Coping strategies (expressing internal or external loci of control) depend on the complaint type (against the system or against the social workers’ professional functioning and/or ethical behaviour) and the regulatory body’s character. A professional-ethical complaint is a context-informed pragmatic challenge that social workers should understand and be trained to consider as an opportunity for professional development.

Religion and Entrepreneurial Exits: Divine Attributions and Eternal Time-frames

This conceptual study, drawing upon the literature on causal attributions and time perspectives, explores how religion may influence entrepreneurs' decisions to exit ventures. Religious beliefs and principles will likely shift entrepreneurs' (a) causal attributions of success and failure from internal or external loci to a third locus of causality, i. e., the divine, and (b) temporal depths from weeks, months, or years to eternity. Such shifts may, in turn, influence entrepreneurial exits through the nonmarket logic of religion, with contemplative practices acting as the underlying mechanism. Using the context of Jainism, a minority religion – originating in India – characterized by self-employed adherents and a seeming paradox between austerity and ostentation, this study develops propositions that relate religion to business exits.

Promoting Sustainable Consumption: The Roles of Consumers’ Domain-Specific Environmental Knowledge and Personality Traits

Environmental sustainability, a pivotal facet of sustainable development, is explicitly emphasized and advocated. The textile and apparel (T&A) industry, which is resource-intensive, faces challenges in transitioning toward an ecologically friendly market. The shift toward sustainability is causing significant changes in consumer lifestyles and cultural practices, resulting in increased uncertainty in pro-environmental behaviors. This study adapts the environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) model to investigate how consumers’ subjective and objective domain-specific environmental knowledge (SUEK and OBEK) and personality traits—including personal environmental responsibility (PER), eco-centric and anthropocentric environmental beliefs (EEBs and AEBs), and internal and external environmental loci of control (IN-ELOC and EX-ELOC)—influence sustainable consumption intention (SCI) for T&A products. The data from 212 completed online survey questionnaires were analyzed using a two-stage partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. The findings reveal that participants’ SUEK related to the T&A industry, and their PER and EEBs positively influence their SCI for T&A products. This research contributes to the literature on consumer SCI in the T&A industry and adds value to the existing ERB model, providing insights for brands, retailers, educators, policymakers, and stakeholders striving for a more sustainable industry.

The Involvement of Age, Gender, and Personality Variables in Alcohol Consumption during the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romanian University Students

This study aimed to explore the age, gender, and personality variables involved in alcohol consumption (AC) at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania among 210 bachelor’s and master’s students aged between 19 and 25 years. The results of the Freiburg Personality Inventory–Revised and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test were examined using a logistic model and cluster analysis. The prevalence of problematic AC was relatively low (10.5%). The risk of males being part of the problematic AC cluster was 5.223 times higher than that of females (p < 0.001). Increasing age was associated with a decrease in the risk of belonging to the problematic cluster by a factor of 0.733 (p = 0.001). Increasing scores on the Frankness and Somatic Complaints personality scales were associated with a decreased risk of belonging to the problematic cluster of AC, with factors of 0.738 (95% CI, 0.643 to 0.848), Wald χ2(1) = 18.424, and p < 0.001 and 0.901 (95% CI, 0.813 to 0.999), Wald χ2(1) = 3.925, and p = 0.048, respectively. More action to prevent AC is needed in men, especially in those at the beginning of their university studies. It is necessary to intervene to decrease the interest in making a good impression (low scores on the Frankness Scale) so as to increase healthy autonomy using critical thinking and find a balance between the internal and external loci of control. Students from faculties with profiles that deal with health and its promotion are less vulnerable to problematic alcohol consumption, even if they have a withdrawn, pessimistic personality (low scores on Somatic Complaints).

Hope and depression among pandemic graduates

ABSTRACT This mixed method study examined hope and depression among pandemic graduates using Locus of Hope Theory. Phase one examined the relationship of internal and external locus of hope dimensions on the depressive symptoms of 101 pandemic graduates through an online survey. Analysis revealed that 66.3% of the sample had moderate to severe levels of depression. Among the four dimensions, only internal hope was significantly associated with depression. Phase two involved 12 participants screened to have high hope scores. They were asked to participate in focus group discussions regarding their sources of hope. Despite the non-significant relationship between external loci of hope and depression in phase one, responses in the qualitative phase provided evidence for external sources of hope (family, peers, and spiritual being) during the pandemic. Practical implications are discussed.

What matters when examining the performance of salespersons? Analyzing the boundary conditions of personal dispositional factor.

This study intended to examine the effect of developmental and evaluative purposes of performance appraisal (PA) on job meaningfulness (JM). Furthermore, the study also aimed to assess the moderating effect of personal dispositional factors, that is, internal and external loci of control between developmental and evaluative PA and JM. A total of 295 questionnaires were received from salespersons working in national and multinational pharmaceutical companies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Data were gathered using a time lag study design using a convenience sampling technique. Data collected via questionnaires were analyzed using PLS-SEM to assess measurement and structural models for testing hypotheses. Results revealed that developmental PA significantly influenced JM, while evaluative PA failed to influence JM. Furthermore, there was a moderating effect of the external locus of control (ELOC) on the relationship between developmental PA and JM, while the rest of moderating hypotheses failed to influence the relationship of developmental and evaluative PA with JM. The results can be used as a building block in order to bring positive work outcomes in the form of meaningful work. Organizations should use their PA as a development tool, instead of instrumental or evaluative PA, for making the work more meaningful to the employees. The extant literature is limited in terms of assessing the dimensions of PA (developmental and evaluative) in predicting workplace outcomes. Also, examinations of multidimensions of the locus of control are limited in the existing literature between HR practices and work outcomes. The current study has filled these gaps in the contemporary literature.

Are Decision-Making Styles, Locus of Control, and Average Grades in Exams Correlated with Procrastination in University Students?

In this paper decision-making styles, locus of control, and average grades in exams are examined as correlates of procrastination in a sample of 185 university students (mainly female students) recruited from mandatory courses for degrees in psychology and pedagogy at the University of Catania (Italy). Method: We used the Decisional Procrastination Scale (Ferrari, Johnson, & McCown, 1995), consisting of five Likert-type items useful for analyzing the procrastination; the Decision-Making Styles (Di Nuovo & Magnano, 2013), chosen for measuring the doubtfulness, delay, proxy, and no problem styles with 15 Likert-type items; the Locus of Control of Behavior Scale (Craig, Franklin, & Andrews, 1984) used to evaluate internal and external loci of control. The data were gathered through an online anonymous questionnaire and were analyzed using the multiple linear regression model to assess how styles of decision-making, locus of control, and average grades in exams affect the decision to procrastinate in university students. The main findings of this study indicate that doubtfulness and delay decision-making styles correlate with high decisional procrastination together with low average grades at university exams. Locus of control is excluded by the proposed model. Conclusions: These findings suggest pursuing a deeper investigation of the various types of procrastination and the measures used for analyzing the academic achievement in university students.

Psychohermeneutics of graffiti: external and internal loci of control

The article examines the features of the expression of psycho-emotional conflict within a person within the framework of external and internal loci of control through the creation of graphic art objects. The authors argue that communicative strategies for resolving problems in stressful situations and seeking social support are associated with the question of the individual's ability to independently solve emerging problem situations and find internal resources to overcome them by releasing psychoemotional stress, based on the structure of the cognitive sphere of a person, the characteristics of his perception and thinking. Typical external semantics of graffiti consists in an attempt to convince others of the hopelessness of being. The internal locus of control is associated with the conceptual sphere of social activity and is embodied in a wide variety of imperative forms, including a call, order, request, advice, and so on. In other words, the psycho-hermeneutics of graffiti is conditioned, on the one hand, by communicative and pragmatic strategies of social empathy (internal locus of control), and, on the other hand, by the conflict of the individual with society and the desire for spiritual and moral escapism, escape from reality to self-isolation and loneliness (external locus of control). The study proposes a classification of graphic art objects, which is based on the form of public expression of the individual's inner world, which is associated with the implementation of the compensatory-pragmatic function of graffiti as a universal code of modern urban communication.

Enhancing HIV Prevention Services: Exploring Psychosocial Associations of HIV Antibody Testing Frequency among Sexually Active Men who have Sex with Men

Despite recommendations of annual HIV testing for high-risk individuals, one-third of infected men who have sex with men (MSM) are unaware of their serostatus. In an effort to improve HIV prevention services and subsequently decrease prevalence, this study aimed to examine the HIV testing patterns and factors associated with testing frequency among MSM. Utilizing eight reliable and validated instruments and a sample of 374 sexually active MSM, this study examined a series of demographic, behavioral and psychosocial associations of antibody testing frequency, including substance use/abuse, depression levels, internalized homophobia, unprotected anal intercourse, sexual regulation and attribution, and HIV knowledge, . MSM who tested for HIV frequently were more likely to be older, have higher levels of educational attainment, and self-identify as gay. Respondents who reported never having been tested and irregularly tested had higher levels of internalized homophobia, depression, and alcohol use and abuse patterns. Respondents who had never been tested or infrequently tested engaged in lower levels of sexual risk, particularly unprotected receptive anal intercourse. Those with no or irregular histories of testing also exhibited greater external sexual loci of control, and were significantly more likely to attribute life events to external, unstable, and pessimistic causes.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF COPYING STRATEGIES AND LOCUS OF CONTROL OF FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY

  The article considers the modern approaches examining coping strategies and the locus of control. The main structural components of coping strategies are identified, namely: cognitive, emotional and behavioural. The most often used coping strategies are: social support, professional help, emotional reactions, ignoring or avoidance of problems. The basic functions of coping strategies are considered and defined: problem-oriented and emotionally-oriented. The main concepts concerning copings are defined and analyzed: coping-behaviour, coping-resource, and coping-strategy. An individual’s coping resources are: adequate self-esteem, achievement motivation, low anxiety, as well as flexible reaction to changes, self-confidence, the ability to solve life problems, constructive defence of own opinions, resistance to pressure from others, established and maintained social contacts. The role of such communicative resources for coping as empathy and affiliation is also analyzed.The main approaches to the locus of control are analyzed and its main types are distinguished: internal, external and ambernal loci of control. The exsicting correlations between coping strategies and loci of control were proven.It is important to form active, constructive coping strategies and internal locus of control at fresh students during their adaptation to university. The article presents the empirical study examining students’ coping strategies and locus of control. We have determined that first-year students actively use such coping strategies as forecasting, decision-making, correction, self-control. Such strategies as quality assessment, goal setting, planning are used less often. The first-year students are more likely to use internal locus control in interpersonal relationships, at attitudes toward health and achievement. Students show internal as well as external loci of control in the field of failures and family relations. &nbsp

Epigenetic diversity of Saccharum spp. accessions assessed by methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP).

The epigenetic diversity of six genotype groups (commercial cultivars, S. officinarum, S. spontaneum, S. robustum, S. barberi, and Erianthus sp.) was assessed through methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP). A total of 1341 MSAP loci were analyzed, of which 1117 (83.29%) were susceptible to cytosine methylation and responsible for a higher proportion of overall diversity among genotypes. The MSAP selective primer combinations captured different proportions of internal and external cytosine methylation loci across genotype groups, while the average external cytosine frequency was higher for all genotype groups. The genotypes were divided into two subpopulations with a high differentiation index (φst = 0.086) based on epigenetic loci. The genotypes were clustered in three subgroups for both methylated and unmethylated loci, considering dissimilarity values. Four methylated fragments (MFs) were randomly selected and subsequently sequenced and compared with sugarcane public databases using BLASTN. MF alignments suggest that cytosine methylation occurs in sugarcane near CpG islands and tandem repeats within transcribed regions and putative cis-regulatory sequences, which assigned functions are associated with stress adaptation. These results provide the first insights about the distribution of this epigenetic mark in sugarcane genome, and suggest a biological relevance of methylated loci.

Effect of Gender, Age, Grade Level, Subjects, and Family Income on the Locus of Control of Secondary School Students

The purpose of the present study was to identify the effect of different variables on the locus of control of secondary school students. About 520 students participated in the study. Brown Locus of Control Scale (BLOCS) was used to assess the internal, external social, and external other loci of control of students. The t-test and ANOVA were applied to find out the difference in locus of control of students of different gender, age, grade level, subjects, and family income. Results revealed that external social and external other loci of control of female students were significantly higher than the male students. External other locus of control of younger age group (12-to-14-year) and lower grade level (9th) students was significantly higher than the students of older age groups (16-to-17 and 18-to-19-year-old) and higher grade level (10th) students. Internality and other externality of arts group students were significantly higher than the science group students. Family income was found to have significant effect on external social locus of control. However, the effect was not decisive as social externality of students of only one low-income group was significantly higher than the students of a high family income group.

Depression among children with and without Learning Disability

Students with learning disabilities (LDs), may be at a greater risk for developing mental disorders because they tend to have lower self-concept, higher external loci of control, less socially accepted and more anxious than their peers without LD (Margalit& Shulman, 1986).The present study aimed to compare children with and without LDon depressive symptoms, including age and gender influence. A sample of 320 children (LD=160, Without LD=160) with age range of 9–16 years in both genders were employed through purposive sampling.The Children's Depression Inventory 2nd Edition (CDI2; Kovacs, 2009) was used to assess depression symptoms in the selected samples. Two-way ANOVA was employed to find out the influence of group, gender and age on depressive symptoms. Results revealedthat children with LD had higher depression symptoms scores than without LD subjects. Male subjects had higher total depressive symptoms scores, and subjects with 13–16 years had higher depression symptoms scores. Implications and limitations of the results are discussed with reference to previous research and directions for future investigation.

Differences in Knowledge, Stress, Sensation Seeking, and Locus of Control Linked to Dietary Adherence in Hemodialysis Patients.

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often require regular hemodialysis (HD) to prolong life. However, between HD sessions, patients have to restrict their diets carefully to avoid excess accumulation of potassium, phosphate, sodium, and fluid, which their diseased kidneys can no longer regulate. Failure to adhere to their renal dietary regimes can be fatal; nevertheless, non-adherence is common, and yet little is known about the psychological variables that might predict this dietary behavior. Thus, this study aimed to assess whether dietary adherence might be affected by a variety of psychological factors including stress, personality, and health locus of control, as well as dietary knowledge, in chronic HD patients. Fifty-one patients (30 men; age range 25–85) who had undergone HD for at least 3 months and had been asked to restrict at least one of potassium, phosphate or fluid, were recruited from a hospital renal unit. Measures of adherence to each of potassium, phosphate, and fluid were derived from standard criteria for these physiological indices in renal patients. Knowledge of food/drink sources of these dietary factors, and their medical implications in relation to HD and CKD were assessed by a bespoke questionnaire. Psychological factors including stress, personality and health locus of control beliefs were measured by standardized questionnaires. Having to restrict a particular nutrient was associated with better knowledge of both food sources and medical complications for that nutrient; however, greater dietary knowledge was not linked to adherence, and knowledge of medical complications tended to be associated with poorer adherence to potassium and phosphate levels. Adherence to these two nutrient requirements was also associated with lower reported stress in the past week. Adherence was associated with differences in locus of control: these differences varied across indices although there was a tendency to believe in external loci. For potassium, phosphate, and fluid restriction, adherers were less likely to be sensation seekers but did not differ from non-adherers on impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, or hopelessness. In conclusion, the links between dietary adherence and stress, locus of control and personality suggests that screening for such psychological factors may assist in managing adherence in HD patients.

How much do we really know about von Willebrand disease?

In the last nine decades, large advances have been made toward the characterization of the pathogenic basis and clinical management of von Willebrand disease (VWD), the most prevalent inherited bleeding disorder. Pathological variations at the von Willebrand factor (VWF) locus present as a range of both quantitative and qualitative abnormalities that make up the complex clinical spectrum of VWD. This review describes the current understanding of the pathobiological basis of VWD. The molecular basis of type 2 (qualitative abnormalities) and type 3 VWD (total quantitative deficiency) have been well characterized in recent decades. However, knowledge of type 1 VWD (partial quantitative deficiency) remains incomplete because of the allelic and locus heterogeneity of this trait, and is complicated by genetic variability at the VWF gene, interactions between the VWF gene and the environment, and the involvement of external modifying loci. Recent genome wide association studies and linkage analyses have sought to identify additional genes that modify the type 1 VWD phenotype. Understanding the pathogenic basis of VWD will facilitate the development of novel treatment regimens for this disorder, and improve the ability to provide complementary molecular diagnostics for type 1 VWD.

Does Internal or External Locus of Control Have a Stronger Link to Mental and Physical Health?

When examining the relationship of locus of control (LOC) with mental and physical health, internal and external loci of control have typically been defined as a single, bipolar construct, despite prior evidence that the two are orthogonal. Across three cross-sectional studies, we hypothesized that internal and external locus of control would each predict unique variance in well-being. Study 1 examined the association of LOC with psychological well-being, Study 2 examined the association between LOC and physical well-being, and Study 3 examined the association of three types of LOC with psychological, subjective, and physical well-being. Study 3 also employed three types of LOC assessments. In all three studies (n = 1181 for Study 1, n = 577 for Study 2, n = 271 for Study 3), undergraduate participants completed self-report surveys through an online data-collection system. Through a series of regression analyses, the results showed that external LOC was a more consistent predictor of well-being than Internal LOC. More specifically, perceived constraints (a form of external LOC) were the strongest LOC predictor over all other types. This suggests that internal and external LOC should be measured as two separate constructs, and that external LOC is more strongly associated with well-being than internal LOC.

State-level differences in fatal law enforcement officer collisions

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate variability in law enforcement officer (LEO) traffic fatality rates among states in order to identify policy-relevant areas of opportunity to reduce deaths.Design/methodology/approach– Differences in state highway spending, regulatory policy, law enforcement training, LEO and general public traffic fatalities, and other state-level variables are explored through cross-sectional regression analysis and qualitative content analysis. Data were used from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime in the USA and LEOs Killed and Assaulted reports, and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, among other sources.Findings– There are a number of significant state-level variables and trends that contribute to differences in LEO traffic fatality rates. Maximum highway speed limits and general population traffic fatalities are found to be statistically significant predictors. Thematic factors relating to LEO exceptionalism, agency sovereignty, training, and external control loci, emerged through qualitative analysis.Research limitations/implications– Limitations included differences in definition, consistency, and reporting among data sources. Qualitative analysis of some variables were limited and future research should pursue more robust and repeated/longitudinal measures.Practical implications– Policymakers have an opportunity to review significant factors contributing to higher/lower collision involvement rates and make changes to police practices to reduce collision involvement and improve safety for LEOs.Originality/value– No prior study has offered a national, cross-case analysis of LEO traffic fatalities by state. This paper offers law enforcement policymakers empirical examples of successful LEO traffic safety policies.

An analysis of reported motivational orientation in students undertaking doctoral studies in the biomedical sciences

BackgroundAs the source of a sizeable percentage of research output and the future arbiters of science policy, practice and direction, doctoral (Ph.D.) students represent a key demographic in the biomedical research community. Despite this, doctoral learning in the biomedical sciences has, to date, received little research attention.MethodsIn the present study we aimed to qualitatively describe the motivational orientations present in semi-structured interview transcripts from a cohort of seventeen biomedical Ph.D. students drawn from two research intensive Australian Group of Eight universities.ResultsApplying elements of self-determination theory, external and introjected control loci (both strongly associated with alienation, disengagement and poor learning outcomes) were identified as common motivational determinants in this cohort.ConclusionsThe importance of these findings to doctoral learning is discussed in light of previous research undertaken in higher education settings in the United States and the European Union. With motivation accepted as a malleable, context-sensitive factor, these data provide for both a better understanding of doctoral learning and highlight a potential avenue for future research aimed at improving outcomes and promoting meaningful learning processes in the biomedical doctorate.