Locus of Control and Death Anxiety: A Reexamination

Abstract

The relationship between locus of control and death anxiety was reexamined in an attempt to reconcile inconsistencies in the literature. The Reid-Ware Three Factor Locus of Control Scale and the Templer Death Anxiety Scale were administered to 164 males and 211 female college students who ranged from seventeen to forty-nine years of age. Separate regression analyses indicated that death anxiety loaded significantly on the Fatalism dimension for males and on the Social System Control dimension for females. The Self-Control dimension was significantly related to death anxiety for both genders, and accounted for more of the explained death anxiety variance than either of the other locus of control factors.

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