Health locus of control in a primary care sample of alcoholics and nonalcoholics

This study examined differences between alcoholics and nonalcoholics in a primary care population on the internal, chance, and powerful others subscales 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 gro ups 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.