Locus of control and socioeconomic status: Does internal locus of control reflect real resources and opportunities or personal coping abilities?

The present study attempts to provide answers to the following questions: Does locus of control reflect real opportunities and resources such as higher income and education, or internal strengths and coping abilities? Is it locus of control, socioeconomic status or the interaction between these two variables that affects depression level and life satisfaction? Data was obtained from a stratified random sample of 150 Israeli widows, under the age of 54. Multiple regressional analysis was followed by analysis of variance in order to examine the interaction hypothesis. The results, providing no support for the interaction hypothesis, indicate that both locus of control and socioeconomic status are related to depression and life satisfaction independently, and that locus of control reflects more than socioeconomic resources.