Specificity of relations between children's control-related beliefs and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology

The authors examined the specificity of the relation between 3 types of con trol-related beliefs and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in a sample of 290 clinic-referred children aged 7 to 17 years. Self-reported beliefs about control (the capacity to cause an intended outcome), conting ency (the degree to which a desired outcome can be controlled by a relevant behavior), and competence (an individual's ability to produce the relevant behavior) across 3 domains (academic, behavioral, and social) showed more specific relations with psychopathology than have been previously reported. Among children with externalizing psychopathology, internalizing psychopat hology may be specifically associated with increased self-critical awarenes s about their conduct; externalizing psychopathology may attenuate the spec ific negative relation between internalizing psychopathology and control-re lated beliefs in the social domain.