The Role of Locus of Control in Predicting Distress in Different Economic Sectors
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Psychology
Minor
African American Studies
Institution
Eastern Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Jonathan Gore
Department
EKU Department of Psychology
Abstract
The present study examines locus of control with job sectors and determining psychological distress. We hypothesized that job sector prevalence in society links the LOC of its residents which in turn predicts psychological distress. We did a multiple regression to examine the variables of government assistance, psychological distress, LOC and economic sectors. The study measured LOC and distress through Mechanical Turk (n = 158). The study demonstrated that although the hypothesized links between job sectors and LOC were not supported, the correlations between LOC and psychological distress were supported. Post hoc analyses also demonstrated that the links between job sector prevalence and LOC were stronger for women than for men, and in many cases the links were in the opposite direction between men and women. Specifically, there was a stronger correlation between personal mastery and business sector prevalence and between personal mastery and government assistance prevalence for women than for men. The amount of industrial sector prevalence was also more strongly linked to perceived constraints for women than for men.
The Role of Locus of Control in Predicting Distress in Different Economic Sectors
The present study examines locus of control with job sectors and determining psychological distress. We hypothesized that job sector prevalence in society links the LOC of its residents which in turn predicts psychological distress. We did a multiple regression to examine the variables of government assistance, psychological distress, LOC and economic sectors. The study measured LOC and distress through Mechanical Turk (n = 158). The study demonstrated that although the hypothesized links between job sectors and LOC were not supported, the correlations between LOC and psychological distress were supported. Post hoc analyses also demonstrated that the links between job sector prevalence and LOC were stronger for women than for men, and in many cases the links were in the opposite direction between men and women. Specifically, there was a stronger correlation between personal mastery and business sector prevalence and between personal mastery and government assistance prevalence for women than for men. The amount of industrial sector prevalence was also more strongly linked to perceived constraints for women than for men.