Syftet var att undersöka vilja till vidare studier genom att beräkna valda prediktorers bidrag till förklarad varians. En enkätundersökning genomfördes med 144 sistaårselever på gymnasiet, för att undersöka om deras akademiska motivation, locus of control, föräldrars utbildningsnivå och kön kunde predicera deras vilja att läsa vidare. Utfallsvariabeln konstruerades inför studien och prövades i en förstudie, där ett cronbachs alpha på .93 påvisades. Instrumentet mätte vilja till vidare studier utifrån elevernas lust, attityd och beteende. Resultatet visade en förklarad varians på 59,5 % för samtliga prediktorer, yttre akademisk motivation var den starkaste prediktorn för vilja till vidare studier. Moderns, men inte faderns, utbildningsnivå bidrog signifikant till variansen, så även akademisk icke-motivation och locus of control. Resultatet kan öka statusen för yttre motivation som verktyg i undervisning, men väcker vidare frågor gällande exempelvis föräldrars påverkan på elevers vilja att studera vidare. Begränsningar finns i resultatets generaliserings- och tolkningsmöjligheter till följd av studiens urvalsmetod. / The aim of this study was to explore willingness to engage in higher education by calculating the chosen predictors’ explanatory variance. A questionnaire based survey was conducted on 144 senior high school students, to see whether their academic motivation type, locus of control, parental education level and sex could predict their willingness to engage in higher education. The dependent variable was constructed for the purpose of the study and was tested in a pilot study, and produced a Cronbach’s alpha of .93. The instrument measured the students willingness to higher education based on desire, attitude and behaviour. The result showed an explained variance of 59,9 % for all predictors, where external academic motivation was the strongest predictor for willingness to engage in higher education. The mother’s, but not the father’s, education level contributed significantly to the variance, as did academic amotivation and locus of control. The result can increase the status of external motivation as a tool in education, but also gives rise to further questions, for example regarding parents influence on students’ willingness to engage in higher education. There are limits in the way the result can be interpreted and generalized, due to the sampling process.

A specifically oriented instrument was used to partially replicate a study by Dietz (1988) in an effort to compare the utility of the phi coefficient and Rescorla index measures of perceived contingency of reinforcement in children and examine the relationship of these measures to locus of control, teacher ratings of helplessness and academic performance.

This study investigates the status of biofeedback treatment and locus of control (LOC) affiliation on the reduction of tension headache. Three LOC groups designated as internals, powerful-other externals and chance externals (using Wallston and Wallston's, 1978, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale) were administered an eight week electromyogram (EMG) frontalis muscle biofeedback training program using an Autogen 1700 biofeedback unit. Subjects were 12 female and four male undergraduate students who had a history of tension headache. Results indicated no significant difference in frontalis muscle tension between the beginning and end of sessions in either a biofeedback or self-control condition for any of the LOC groups. Further, there was no significant difference among LOC groups in ability to reduce muscle tension in either the training or self-control condition. Finally, neither biofeedback training nor LOC groups were significant predictors of headache reduction. Extreme within-group variability and small sample size affected study findings and these and other implications for future research are discussed.

The personality characteristic locus of control internality is widely-accepted as a trait possessed by women entrepreneurs. Recent research also suggests the presence of a coexisting attribute of similar strength, characterized as influence of a significant other. The presence of one personality characteristic implying perception of self-directed capability, together with indication of need for external assistance, poses a theoretical paradox. The study's purpose was to determine the nature and extent of direct and interactive effects which these and related variables had on entrepreneur return on investment. It was hypothesized that dimensions of significant other, as operationalized for this research, would support internality of locus of control and also modify constraining effects of educational and experiential disadvantage which the literature cites as pertinent to women entrepreneurs. This was nonexperimental, exploratory research of correlational cross-sectional design which examined hypothesized variable linkages. A convenience sample from a women's entrepreneur networking group was surveyed. Significant other elements were derived from factor analysis, resulting in four common dimensions. These factors, together with Rotter's Locus of Control instrument scores, reports on levels of education and experience, and hypothesized interactions, were independent variables. Hierarchial multiple regression was used to test a proposed path model. Two interpretable four-factor solutions derived from significant other variables were tested in two models. Although neither model attained overall significance, individual variables were directionally as hypothesized, and locus of control and certain factoral dimensions attained bivariate significance. Significant other factors appear to influence locus of control through statistical suppression as they interact with other variables. Results point toward a possibility that significant others who most affect female entrepreneur performance are those who give specific advice and aid, rather than moral support. Further research to explore what seems a strong relationship between return on investment and locus of control internality is recommended.

This study sought to determine if the locus of control of seminarians is altered as a result of graduate theological training. Gaskins' (1978) locus of control scale was selected because it included God as one of several external controls. This scale was either mailed or administered directly to first year and graduating students from two Southern Baptist and two Disciples of Christ seminaries. The 187 responses revealed no significant difference between the locus of control scores of the two levels despite the fact that all but one school reported mean graduating scores lower than their first year average. The effects of seminary on locus of control appears to be statistically insignificant.

To determine the relationships among perceived contingency of parental reinforcements, depression, and locus of control, 66 male and 54 female undergraduate university students completed questionnaire measures. Significant relationships were obtained between depression and locus of control for both sexes. Also, subjects of both sexes who described their parents as having administered rewards and punishments more noncontingently tended to describe themselves as more external and as more depressed. Parental rewards were perceived by both sexes as administered more noncontingently than punishments. Females tended to perceive parental rewards as delivered more noncontingently than did males. All the intercorrelations among perceived contingency of parental reinforcement, locus of control, and depression were in the prediction direction.

This study measured the relationships between locus of control, students' perception of the schedule of teacher reinforcement, and academic achievement. The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility questionnaire, Perception of Teacher Reinforcement scale, and Wide Range Achievement Test were used to measure these variables. All subscores of the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility questionnaire correlated significantly with achievement for the females, but no relationships were found for the males. Perception of the teacher as partially rewarding was significantly correlated with reading, spelling, and total achievement for the males and with reading and arithmetic achievement for the females. Perception of the teacher as partially punishing was significantly correlated with arithmetic achievement for the males, but was not related to achievement for the females.

Religion has a well-documented relationship with mental health benefits and has consistently demonstrated an impact on several specific mental health concerns, including suicide, generally finding various religious facets to be inversely associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. More specifically, religion has been found to be associated with suicide in a number of ways, including decreased acceptance of suicide, decreased likelihood of suicidal thoughts, decreased likelihood of suicidal attempts, fewer suicide attempts, lower relative risk of suicide, lower suicide rate, and increased reasons for living. Several studies have proposed potential mediators (e.g., social support, locus of control, and substance abuse) of the relationship between religion and mental health, usually in non-clinical samples. The current study sought to examine the association between religious attendance and suicidal ideation using archival data of a clinical sample collected from the University of North Texas Psychology Clinic. Results from this sample revealed no evidence of mediation, instead suggesting a direct effect of religious attendance on suicidal ideation. Two mediation models demonstrated the effects of external locus of control and social support on suicidal ideation. These models are discussed in terms of their directionality, considering the extant research on these associations. Findings of the current study have implications for welcoming the incorporation of salient religious topics throughout treatment in mental health settings, including discussion of religious attendance among those clients who have identified religion as a personal value.

Att studera arbetslöshet hos män 55-65 år i en mellansvensk kommun har här varit i fokus. Syftet var att se hur de upplevde att bli arbetslösa, hur de såg på sina möjligheter på arbetsmarknaden samt var de la kontrollen för det som hänt dem, vilket avsåg orientering i locus of control. Tidigare genomförd forskning kretsade mycket kring hälsa. Män i åldern mellan 55 och 65 år fanns inte representerade. Kunskap kring vad som hände mentalt vid arbetslöshet saknades. Tillgänglighetsurval användes i ett mellansvenskt samhälle. Nio personer intervjuades och besvarade ett locus of control-test. Resultaten visade att de kände utanförskap, några trodde sig kunna få jobb igen, några längtade efter pension, de flesta kände sig diskriminerade pga. åldern. De intervjuade kände av problem med ekonomi och stress. Upplevd åldersdiskriminering kunde bero på att det då var hård konkurrens om de jobb som fanns att söka.

The purpose of the present study was to examine goal setting strategies, locus of control beliefs and personality characteristics of swimmers (108 males and 111 females) from top twenty 1999 NCAA Division IA programs. Three questionnaires were completed: (a) Goal Setting in Sport Questionnaire (GSISQ: Weinberg, Burton, Yukelson, & Weigand, 1993), (b) the Internal, Powerful Others, Chance Scale (IPC: Levenson, 1973), and (c) the compliance subscale and six conscientiousness subscales from the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R: Costa & McCrae, 1985). Descriptive statistics from the GSISQ indicated that most of the swimmers set goals to improve overall performance (51%) and set moderately difficult goals (58%). Results associated with the IPC scale revealed that most of the swimmers attributed their sport performance to internal factors. Results pertaining to the NEO-PI-R indicated that most swimmers were highly conscientious, disciplined, purposeful, and determined.