In this study, 171 older adolescents completed a risk-taking inventory to measure risk involvement. Results showed that perceived risks affected risk-taking more significantly than did perceived benefits. Higher sensation seeking tendencies were affiliated with more risk-taking. Locus of control was not related to risk-taking. (Contains 38…

Describes the use of reversal peer tutoring to change powerlessness, low academic achievement, and negative attitudes toward school and/or self among seventh and eighth grade students. (Author/DB)

Surveyed seventh-grade students from two school districts in rural North Carolina to determine the prevalence and correlates of smokeless tobacco use. Of those reporting use of smokeless tobacco, virtually all were male. Locus of control of "occasional" users was significantly more internal than those reporting "regular" use.…

Results from a study of 104 college students generally did not corroborate previous findings. A small, statistically significant correlation between locus of control and birth control knowledge was found, but the practical significance of the relationship was diminished because the correlation was small and other relationships tested were found to…

Reviews the underlying assumptions and principles of a new psychological paradigm, Psychology of Mind/Health Realization (POM/HR). Thought recognition is compared with locus of control (LOC). The relationship of LOC to self-reported happiness and satisfaction is examined from the perspective of POM/HR, using a sample of at-risk adolescents…

Self-report, retrospective study of 115 adolescents compared self-esteem and locus of control of never hospitalized to that of adolescents hospitalized during adolescence, before adolescence, and during and before adolescence. Found no significant differences, although findings raised questions about long-term effects of early experiences,…

Adolescent girls from an urban-based clinic participated in a longitudinal study about psychosexual development and risk of STD acquisition. The girls were asked about their perceptions of loci of control (parents, internal control) as it relates to STD acquisition. Responses to locus of control correlated over time but variations were not found…

Sexually active girls (n=64) at a clinic were surveyed. When those with a history of pregnancy were compared with never-pregnant girls, 2 significant differences were found: girls with pregnancy history had first intercourse at the mean age of 15 instead of 16, and scored higher on the "Powerful Other" Health Locus of Control subscale, a measure…

Questionnaires assessing perceived competence, perceived control, competitive trait anxiety, and motivational orientation were completed by 108 boys. Additionally, 12 coaches were observed for 2 games in order to record coaching behaviors during competition. The model tested showed that both coaching behaviors and children's trait anxiety causally…

Examined female adolescent runaways. Found that girls who "run to" were younger, more impulsive, had internal locus of control, and had history of more runaways and longer periods of staying away from home. Girls who "run from" were older, more reflective, had external locus of control, and had history of fewer runaways and shorter periods away…

Examined relationship between self-reported depression and cognitive style in adolescent psychiatric inpatients (n=80). Adolescents who reported depression also reported significantly more internal attributions for negative events and less internal attributions for positive events, evidenced more external locus of control, and described themselves…

Examined selected predictor variables from baseline 1988 wave of data, taken from the National Education Longitudinal Study, in relation to pregnancy status. Results indicated statistically significant difference in locus of control between those females who became pregnant later in adolescence (external) and those who did not (internal).…

Evaluated an assertion training program for adolescents (N=23) in a middle-school setting. Results showed the group who received the training significantly improved their scores on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale and the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire. The control group showed no change in their scores. (JAC)

Measured Black adolescent mothers' coping responses, variables related to their choice of responses, and the relationship between coping responses and emotional stress. Asking others for assistance was the major coping response. Extent of self-esteem, support systems, and emotional stress influenced the type of response. (Author/DB)