Prior research has established a relationship between external locus of control and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity among Caucasians. There is also evidence that African Americans tend to exhibit an elevated external locus of control. However, the relationship between external control and PTSD symptom severity has not been examined among African American women. Using a sample of African American adult female volunteers who self-reported a history of child abuse and/or sexual or physical assault in adulthood, the present study sought to examine the relationships between trauma history, locus of control, and PTSD symptom severity. Participants in the child/adult trauma group reported fewer PTSD symptoms than those with a history of adult trauma only. Contrary to expectations, however, trauma history was not related to locus of control in this sample of African American women. It is possible that factors associated with African American socialization may serve as a buffer to the development or maintenance of PTSD.
Abramson, L.Y., Seligman, M.E., Martin, M., & Teasdale, J.D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 87, 49-74.
2.
Adams, R.E., & Boscarino, J.A. (2005). Differences in mental health outcomes among Whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics following a community disaster. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes , 68, 250-265.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
4.
Arnkoff, D.B., & Mahoney, M.J. (1979). The role of perceived control in psychopathology . In L. C. Perlmutter & R. A. Monty (Eds.), Choice and perceived control. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum .
5.
Barlow, D.H. (2002). Anxiety and its disorders (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
6.
Bell, R.A., Summerson, J.H., & Konen, J.C. (1995). Racial differences in psychosocial variables among adults with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Behavioral Medicine, 21, 69-73.
7.
Bolstad, B.R., & Zinbarg, R.E. (1997). Sexual victimization, generalized perception of control, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 11, 523-540.
8.
Browne, A., & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 66-77.
9.
Carter, M.M., Sbrocco, T., & Carter, C. (1996). African Americans and anxiety disorders research: Development of a testable theoretical framework. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, & Practice, 33, 449-463.
Foa, E.B., Cashman, L.A., Jaycox, L., & Perry, K. (1997). The validation of a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder: The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale. Psychological Assessment, 4, 445-451.
12.
Foa, E.B., Zinbarg, R., & Olasov-Rothbaum, O. (1992). Uncontrollability and unpredictability in post-traumatic stress disorder: An animal model. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 218-238.
13.
Frueh, B.C., Elhai, J.D., Monnier, J., Hammer, M.B., & Knapp, R.G. (2004). Symptom patterns and service use among African American and Caucasian veterans with combat-related PTSD. Psychological Services, 1, 22-30.
14.
Kalof, L. (2000). Ethnic differences in female sexual victimization . Sexuality and Culture: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, 4, 75-97.
15.
Kessler, R.C., McGonagle, K.A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C.B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., et al. (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States: Results from the national comorbidity study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 8-19.
16.
Kilpatrick, D.G., Saunders, B.E., Amick-McMullan, A., Best, C.L., Veronen, L.J., & Resnick, H.S. (1989). Victim and crime factors associated with the development of crime-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Behavior Therapy , 20, 177-198.
17.
Koss, M.P., & Harvey, M.R. (1991). The rape victim: Clinical and community interventions . Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
18.
Kushner, M.G., Riggs, D.S., Foa, E.B., & Miller, S.M. (1993). Perceived controllability and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in crime victims. Behavior Research and Therapy, 31, 105-110.
19.
Leiderman-Cerniglia, L.J. (2002, April). Psychological factors associated with resistance to PTSD symptoms in women with breast cancer. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 62(10-B), 4792.
20.
Mackey, T.F., Hacker, S.S., Wiessfeld, L.A., Ambrose, N.C., Fisher, M.G., & Zobel, D.L. (1991). Comparative effects of sexual assault on sexual functioning of child sexual abuse survivors and others. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 12, 89-112.
21.
Maddi, S.R. (2002). The story of hardiness: Twenty years of theorizing, research and practice. Consulting Psychology Journal, 54, 173-185.
22.
McKeever, V.M., McWhirter, B.T., & Huff, M.E. (2006). Relationships between attribution style, child abuse history, and PTSD symptom severity in Vietnam veterans. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 30, 123-133.
23.
McLeer, S.V., Deblinger, E., Atkins, M.S., Foa, E.B., & Ralphe, D.L. (1988). Posttraumatic stress disorder in sexually abused children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 650-654.
24.
McLeer, S.V., Deblinger, E., Henry, D., & Orvaschel, H. (1989). Sexually abused children at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 875-879.
25.
Mikulincer, M., Glaubman, H., Wasserman, O., Porat, A., & Birger, M. (1989). Control-related beliefs and sleep characteristics of posttraumatic stress disorder patients. Psychological Reports , 65, 567-576.
26.
Miller, S.M. (1980). Why having control reduces stress: If I can stop the roller coaster I don't want to get off. In J. Garber & M. Seligman (Eds.), Human helplessness: Theory and applications. New York: Academic Press.
27.
Miller, S.M., Combs, C., & Kruus, L. (1992). Tuning in and tuning out: Confronting the effects of confrontation. In H. W. Krohne (Ed.), Attention and avoidance: Strategies in coping with aversiveness . New York: Springer-Verlag.
28.
Monnier, J., Elhai, J.D., Frueh, B.C., Sauvageot, J.A., & Magruder, K.M. (2002). Replication and expansion of findings related to racial differences in veterans with combat-related PTSD. Depression and Anxiety, 16, 64-70.
29.
Olasov-Rothbaum, B., Foa, E.B., Riggs, D.S., Murdock, T., & Walsh, W. (1992). A prospective examination of post-traumatic stress disorder in rape victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5, 455-475.
30.
Rotter, J.B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 80, 1-28.
31.
Shaw, B.A., & Krause, N. (2001). Exploring race variations in aging and personal control. Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56B, S119-S124.
32.
Shaw, S.F. (2000). The relationship of posttraumatic stress disorder in adult women to locus of control, severity and duration of childhood sexual abuse, and the relationship between perpetrator and victim. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Physical Sciences and Engineering, 61(4-B), 2222.
33.
Steketee, G., & Foa, E.B. (1987). Rape victims: Post-traumatic stress responses and their treatment: A review of the literature. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 1, 69-86.
34.
Ullman, S.E., & Filipas, H.H. (2005). Ethnicity and child sexual abuse experiences of female college students. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 14, 67-89.
35.
Wade, T.J. (1996). An examination of locus of control/fatalism for Blacks, Whites, boys, and girls over a two year period of adolescence. Social Behavior and Personality, 24, 239-248.
36.
Wenzel, S.L. (1993). Gender, ethnic group, and homelessness as predictors of locus of control among job training participants. Journal of Social Psychology, 133, 495-505.
