Five factor scales for internal-external control and their relations to measures of adjustment

Both Rotter's I-E Scale and Levenson's multidimensional locus of control scales (Internal, Chance, Powerful Others) are used frequently in clinical research. Though the Rotter total score typically is used, Collins and others consistently have found four separate factors when a Likert version was used: Belief in a Difficult World (DW), a Just World, a Predictable World, and a Politically Responsive World. Fleming and Courtney predicted and found that only DW was correlated appreciably with psychological adjustment. In the present study (N = 256), the combined Rotter and Levenson items were factor analyzed. Four factors similar to Collins' resulted, as well as a “Friendly World” factor. Levenson's Powerful Others items were the strongest contributors to DW and were judged consistent with Collins' construct—here interpreted as “personal powerlessness.” Most factor scales were correlated with masculinity; however, only DW proved a good indicator of general adjustment, consistent with prior research.