Age and Locus of Control among Women Food Preparers

While it is theoretically plausible that locus of control and age are related, findings reported in the literature remain inconclusive. We suggest that the inconsistent results may be effects of differences in locus of control scale instruments used. For instance, will scales assuming multidimensionality of locus of control yield different results from scales assuming unidimensionality of the construct? Similarly, will scales that consist of general items produce results different from those scales that are research topic specific? Findings of two studies are reported. Both used locus of control scales specific to beliefs about food and health, but one was unidimensional, the other two-dimensional. Respondents in the two national telephone surveys were 406 and 461 women. The unidimensional scale produced a negative, linear relationship between age and locus of control: older women were more external than were younger women. In contrast, both dimensions of the two-dimensional scale formed quadratic relationships with age. The internal dimension showed internal beliefs increasing until age 60, then decreasing The relation between age and belief in powerful others/fate weakened until about age 50, then strengthened again. The latter findings suggest that, particularly in late middle age and on matters concerning food and health, internal and external beliefs are neither mutually exclusive nor necessarily inconsistent.