Relationships Between State-Trait Anxiety and Locus of Control-Experimental Studies with Adults and Children
Two studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between locus of control and anxiety. The distinction between state and trait anxiety led to the predictions that internal subjects show more state-anxiety than external subjects in 'luck' situations, whereas 'externals' show more state-anxiety under 'ability' situations. Externality was predicted to correlate positively with trait-anxiety. Results with a sample of Brazilian female college students confirmed the first hypothesis in part - externals were more anxious than the internals in the 'ability' situation, but the two groups did not differ in the 'luck' situation. The second hypothesis was confirmed; the correlation between externality and trait-anxiety was positive and significant (r = 0.47, p < 0.05). Results with a sample of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children indicate that internal children showed significantly higher state-anxiety in both 'luck' and 'ability' situations; the correlation between externality and trait-anxiety was -0.86. In addition, incentive led to higher state-anxiety, and significant decreases in externality as a function of school grade. Some of the results confirm findings from other cultures while others point to differences between children and adults regarding the relationships between anxiety and locus of control.