Description of the Questionnaire

This scale consists of 23 statement-questions to which children are asked to respond with “Yes” or “No.” The aim of these questions is to assess the tendency of children to attribute events either to their own internal effort (internal locus of control) or to external factors (external locus of control).

Data Analysis and Use

The scale is used to evaluate the locus of control in children aged approximately 10–12 years (5th and 6th grade of primary school). The results can be utilized within the context of psychoeducational intervention, for research purposes, for assessing personality traits, and for enhancing self-regulation skills.

Purpose

The purpose of the scale is to determine whether a child exhibits an internal or external locus of control, thus contributing to the understanding of the motivations and coping strategies the child employs in daily situations.

Scoring

Scoring is as follows: for questions 1, 11, 18, 19, and 22, a “Yes” response scores 1 point. For all other questions, a “No” response scores 1 point. The total score ranges from 0 to 23. The higher the score, the greater the child’s internal locus of control. Conversely, the lower the score, the more external the child’s locus of control.

Validity & Reliability

The reliability of the Greek adaptation of the Bialer-Cromwell and Nowicki-Strickland scales was measured on a sample of 79 students (41 girls and 38 boys) from 5th and 6th grade, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.76. The first scale measures internal control, while the second measures external control. The scale is considered reliable and has been validated through statistical methods, making it suitable for use with the Greek child population.

Bibliography

Alexopoulos, D., Andreou, E., Mariampsis, I., Palikaras, O., Margariti, O., & Alexopoulou, E. (May, 2001). Reliability and Validity of the Children’s Locus of Control Scale by Nowicki and Strickland. 8th Panhellenic Conference of Psychological Research, Alexandroupoli (Conference Proceedings Book, p. 150, Democritus University of Thrace).