FORM-C OF THE MHLC SCALES - A CONDITION-SPECIFIC MEASURE OF LOCUS OF CONTROL

Form C of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scales i s an 18 item, general purpose, condition-specific locus of control sca le that could easily be adapted for use with any medical or health-rel ated condition. Data from 588 patients with one of four conditions - r heumatoid arthritis, chronic pain, diabetes, or cancer - were utilized to establish the factor structure of Form C and to establish the reli ability and validity of the resultant four subscales: Internality; Cha nce; Doctors; and Other (powerful) People. The alpha reliabilities of the subscales are adequate for research purposes. Data from the arthri tis and chronic pain subjects established that the Form C subscales we re moderately stable over time and possessed considerable concurrent a nd construct validity. Some discriminant validity of Form C with Form B of the MHLC was also demonstrated.