Who Do You Think Is in Control in Addiction? A Pilot Study on Drug-related Locus of Control Beliefs

Abstract

Objectives: The drug-related locus of control scale (DR-LOC) is a new instrument for assessing a person's belief of "being in control" in situations involving drug abuse. It consists of 16-item pairs presented in a forced-choice format, based on the conceptual model outlined by Rotter. The model characterizes the extent to which a person believes that the outcome of an event is under their personal control (internal locus of control) or the influence of external circumstances (external locus of control).

Methods: A total of 592 volunteers completed the DR-LOC and the Rotter's I-E scale. Approximately half of the respondents were enrolled in a drug treatment program for opiates, stimulants and/or alcohol dependence (n = 282), and the remainder (n = 310) had no history of drug dependence.

Results: Factor analysis of DR-LOC items revealed 2 factors reflecting control beliefs regarding (i) the successful recovery from addiction, and (ii) decisions to use drugs. The extent to which a person attributes control in drug-related situations is significantly influenced by their personal or professional experiences with drug addiction. Drug-dependent individuals have a greater internal sense of control with regard to addiction recovery or drug-taking behaviors than health professionals and/or non-dependent control volunteers.

Conclusions: The DR-LOC has shown to effectively translate generalized expectancies of control into a measure of control expectancies for drug-related situations, making it more sensitive for drug-dependent individuals than Rotter's I-E scale. Further research is needed to demonstrate its performance at discriminating between heterogeneous clinical groups such as between treatment-seeking versus non-treatment-seeking drug users.

Keywords: addiction recovery; drug-taking; health professionals; self-report measure; substance abuse.

FIGURE 1

Standardized responses of the drug-related locus of control scale (DR-LOC) in drug-dependent individuals, who are currently enrolled in treatment, and non-dependent individuals from the community. The non-dependent group was subdivided into those individuals who have professional contact with drug-dependent individuals (health professionals) and those who have no such professional contact. These 3 groups differ significantly in their beliefs where the control over the decision to take drugs is located, in the individual such as cravings [internal locus of control (LOC)] or in environmental circumstances such as peer pressure (external LOC). The groups also differed significantly on control beliefs regarding the recovery from addiction. Individuals who have an internal sense of control believe a successful recovery from addiction is determined by a person’s own efforts to stay abstinent (internal LOC), whereas those with an external sense of control hold the view that a successful recovery from addiction is controlled by external factors such as treatment or support from friends and family.