Locus of Control Research on Alcoholic Populations: A Review. I. Development, Scales, and Treatment

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Abstract
Research literature dealing with the relationships of locus of control to alcoholism and the treatment of alcoholism is reviewed, including a discussion of some of the scales used in this research, the relative locus of control of alcoholics compared with controls, the change in locus of control during treatment of alcoholics, and the relationship of locus of control to treatment success. Much of the research is inconclusive. Research on the control orientation of alcoholics compared to controls had equivocal results, but the better designed studies found no difference or externality in alcoholics. Most studies find that alcoholics become more internal over treatment, but the relationship of locus of control to treatment success is unclear. Methodological difficulties included problems with sampling, selecting appropriate controls, assuming homogeneity of alcoholics as a group and assuming linearity and unidimensionality of the scales. A number of needed studies which would clarify some of the questions are suggested.