This article was downloaded by: [McMaster University] On: 12 January 2015, At: 09:44 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
The Journal of Social Psychology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vsoc20
Relationship of InternalExternal Control and National Suicide Rates Myron Boor
a
a
Fort Hays Kansas State College , USA Published online: 01 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: Myron Boor (1976) Relationship of Internal-External Control and National Suicide Rates, The Journal of Social Psychology, 100:1, 143-144, DOI: 10.1080/00224545.1976.9711916 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1976.9711916
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.
Downloaded by [McMaster University] at 09:44 12 January 2015
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
CROSS-CULTURAL NOTES Under this heading appear summaries of studies which, in 500 words or less, provide comparable datafrom two or more societies through the use of a standard measuring instrument; additional details concerning the results can be obtained by communicating directly with the investigator or, when indicated, by requesting supplementary material from Microfiche Publications.
Downloaded by [McMaster University] at 09:44 12 January 2015
The. Jozrmal of Social Psychology, 1976, 100, 143-144.
RELATIONSHIP OF INTERNAGEXTERNAL CONTROL AND NATIONAL SUICIDE RATES* Furt Hays Kansas Stote College
MYRONBOOR Since suiciL, indiviuals are characterized by feelings of hopelessness, it seems that suicidal behavior should be related to a measure such as the Rotter2 Internal-External (I-E) control scale, which assesses the extent to which events are perceived as controlled by one’s own efforts rather than by external forces. If suicidal behavior is related to perceived degree of control, countries whose inhabitants perceive relatively high degrees of control over their life situations should have lower incidences of suicide than countries whose inhabitants perceive less control. This study investigated the relationship of the mean I-E scores reported by recent investigators for several countries to their most recently reported national suicide rates. McGinnies, Nordholm, Ward, and Bhanth~rnnavin~ reported mean I-E scores for college students in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, and
* Received in the Editorial Office, Rovincetown, Massachusetts, on June 9, 1975. Copyright, 1976, by The Journal Press. Melges, F., 81 Bowlby, J. Types of hopelessness in psychopathological process. Avch. Gen. Psychiat., 1969, 20, 690-699. Rotter, J. B. Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychol. Monog.. 1966, SO(l), Whole No. 609. McCinnies, E., Nordholm, L. A,, Ward, C. D., & Bhanthumnavin, D. L. Sex and cultural differences in perceived locus of control among students in five countries. J . Consult. 6 Clin. Psychol., 1974, 42, 451-455. 143
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the United States, and Parsons and Schneider4 reported I-E scores for students in Canada, France, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, the United States, and West Germany. In both studies the number of male and female Ss from each country was approximately equal, and all Ss were selected by similar procedures. The I-E data obtained in those studies for Japan and the United States were combined into a single score for each country, and India was excluded from the present study because suicide data were not available. I-E scores may range from 0 to 23, and high scores indicate perceptions of external control. The mean I-E scores and the suicide rates per 100,000 population per yearS for the 10 countries were, respectively: New Zealand, 10.1, 8.3; Israel 10.3, 6.8; United States 10.3, 11.7; Italy 10.5, 6.0; Canada 10.9, 12.2; Australia 10.9, 12.5; West Germany 10.9, 20.9; France 11.0, 15.4; Japan 12.1, 16.8; Sweden 14.6, 20.3. The correlation between these measures is significant (r = .68, df = 8 , p < .05). It thus appears that cultures that foster high perceptions of external control also foster high suicide rates. Some cultural factors that may affect perceived control have been discussed. 3, ‘Those factors may also influence suicidal behavior, or perceived control may intervene between various cultural characteristics and suicidal behavior. Parsons and Schneider also reported mean scores from four I-E subscales (Luck-Fate, Respect, Academic, Leadership-Success), but none of those scores correlated more highly with suicide rates than did total I-E scores, suggesting that suicidal behavior is related to generalized perceptions of locus of control rather than to perceived control in any particular domain. Finally, relationships such as that obtained in this study support the general view that variations among national suicide rates primarily reflect actual differences in suicidal behavior rather than possible inconsistencies in data collection. Psychological Service Center Fort Hays Kansas State College Hays, Kansas 67401 Parsons, 0. A., & Schneider, J. M. Locus of control in university students from Eastern and Western societies. 1. Consult. G. Clin. Psychol., 1914, 42, 456-461. World Health Organization. World Health Statistics Report, 1974, 27, 198-199.
The Journal of Social Psychology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vsoc20
Relationship of InternalExternal Control and National Suicide Rates Myron Boor
a
a
Fort Hays Kansas State College , USA Published online: 01 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: Myron Boor (1976) Relationship of Internal-External Control and National Suicide Rates, The Journal of Social Psychology, 100:1, 143-144, DOI: 10.1080/00224545.1976.9711916 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1976.9711916
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.
Downloaded by [McMaster University] at 09:44 12 January 2015
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
CROSS-CULTURAL NOTES Under this heading appear summaries of studies which, in 500 words or less, provide comparable datafrom two or more societies through the use of a standard measuring instrument; additional details concerning the results can be obtained by communicating directly with the investigator or, when indicated, by requesting supplementary material from Microfiche Publications.
Downloaded by [McMaster University] at 09:44 12 January 2015
The. Jozrmal of Social Psychology, 1976, 100, 143-144.
RELATIONSHIP OF INTERNAGEXTERNAL CONTROL AND NATIONAL SUICIDE RATES* Furt Hays Kansas Stote College
MYRONBOOR Since suiciL, indiviuals are characterized by feelings of hopelessness, it seems that suicidal behavior should be related to a measure such as the Rotter2 Internal-External (I-E) control scale, which assesses the extent to which events are perceived as controlled by one’s own efforts rather than by external forces. If suicidal behavior is related to perceived degree of control, countries whose inhabitants perceive relatively high degrees of control over their life situations should have lower incidences of suicide than countries whose inhabitants perceive less control. This study investigated the relationship of the mean I-E scores reported by recent investigators for several countries to their most recently reported national suicide rates. McGinnies, Nordholm, Ward, and Bhanth~rnnavin~ reported mean I-E scores for college students in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, and
* Received in the Editorial Office, Rovincetown, Massachusetts, on June 9, 1975. Copyright, 1976, by The Journal Press. Melges, F., 81 Bowlby, J. Types of hopelessness in psychopathological process. Avch. Gen. Psychiat., 1969, 20, 690-699. Rotter, J. B. Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychol. Monog.. 1966, SO(l), Whole No. 609. McCinnies, E., Nordholm, L. A,, Ward, C. D., & Bhanthumnavin, D. L. Sex and cultural differences in perceived locus of control among students in five countries. J . Consult. 6 Clin. Psychol., 1974, 42, 451-455. 143
Downloaded by [McMaster University] at 09:44 12 January 2015
144
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
the United States, and Parsons and Schneider4 reported I-E scores for students in Canada, France, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, the United States, and West Germany. In both studies the number of male and female Ss from each country was approximately equal, and all Ss were selected by similar procedures. The I-E data obtained in those studies for Japan and the United States were combined into a single score for each country, and India was excluded from the present study because suicide data were not available. I-E scores may range from 0 to 23, and high scores indicate perceptions of external control. The mean I-E scores and the suicide rates per 100,000 population per yearS for the 10 countries were, respectively: New Zealand, 10.1, 8.3; Israel 10.3, 6.8; United States 10.3, 11.7; Italy 10.5, 6.0; Canada 10.9, 12.2; Australia 10.9, 12.5; West Germany 10.9, 20.9; France 11.0, 15.4; Japan 12.1, 16.8; Sweden 14.6, 20.3. The correlation between these measures is significant (r = .68, df = 8 , p < .05). It thus appears that cultures that foster high perceptions of external control also foster high suicide rates. Some cultural factors that may affect perceived control have been discussed. 3, ‘Those factors may also influence suicidal behavior, or perceived control may intervene between various cultural characteristics and suicidal behavior. Parsons and Schneider also reported mean scores from four I-E subscales (Luck-Fate, Respect, Academic, Leadership-Success), but none of those scores correlated more highly with suicide rates than did total I-E scores, suggesting that suicidal behavior is related to generalized perceptions of locus of control rather than to perceived control in any particular domain. Finally, relationships such as that obtained in this study support the general view that variations among national suicide rates primarily reflect actual differences in suicidal behavior rather than possible inconsistencies in data collection. Psychological Service Center Fort Hays Kansas State College Hays, Kansas 67401 Parsons, 0. A., & Schneider, J. M. Locus of control in university students from Eastern and Western societies. 1. Consult. G. Clin. Psychol., 1914, 42, 456-461. World Health Organization. World Health Statistics Report, 1974, 27, 198-199.
