Abstract
Background: An external locus of control (externality) is associated with poorer psychopathology in individualist cultures, but associations are reported to be weaker in collectivist cultures where an external style is less maladaptive. We investigated the prospective association between externality and psychotic-like experiences (PLE) and depressive symptoms (DS) and compared the strength of associations between a UK and a Japanese cohort.
Method: Cross-cultural cohort study of a UK (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) and a Japanese cohort (Tokyo Teen Cohort). Externality was assessed using the Children’s Nowicki and Strickland Internal, External Scale and DS using the Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire in both cohorts, PLE were assessed with the Psychosis-Like Experiences Questionnaire (ALSPAC), and the Adolescent Psychotic-Like Symptom Screener (TTC). Associations were investigated using multivariable regression models and bivariate regression models to compare the strength of associations.
Results: Mean externality in both childhood and adolescence was higher in ALSPAC in both childhood and adolescence than in the TTC. Childhood externality was associated with PLE in late childhood and adolescence in both cohorts and adolescent externality was associated with PLE in young adulthood in the ALSPAC cohort. There was a more mixed pattern of association between externality and DS scores. There was little evidence of any differences in the strength of associations between externality and different psychopathologies, or between cohorts. In ALSPAC adolescent externality and early adult psychopathology were more strongly associated than childhood externality and adolescent and early adult psychopathology. There was no evidence that change in externality between childhood and adolescence was associated with new onset PEPLE or DS in early adulthood.
Conclusion: An external locus of control is associated with poor mental health regardless of cultural context.
Method: Cross-cultural cohort study of a UK (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) and a Japanese cohort (Tokyo Teen Cohort). Externality was assessed using the Children’s Nowicki and Strickland Internal, External Scale and DS using the Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire in both cohorts, PLE were assessed with the Psychosis-Like Experiences Questionnaire (ALSPAC), and the Adolescent Psychotic-Like Symptom Screener (TTC). Associations were investigated using multivariable regression models and bivariate regression models to compare the strength of associations.
Results: Mean externality in both childhood and adolescence was higher in ALSPAC in both childhood and adolescence than in the TTC. Childhood externality was associated with PLE in late childhood and adolescence in both cohorts and adolescent externality was associated with PLE in young adulthood in the ALSPAC cohort. There was a more mixed pattern of association between externality and DS scores. There was little evidence of any differences in the strength of associations between externality and different psychopathologies, or between cohorts. In ALSPAC adolescent externality and early adult psychopathology were more strongly associated than childhood externality and adolescent and early adult psychopathology. There was no evidence that change in externality between childhood and adolescence was associated with new onset PEPLE or DS in early adulthood.
Conclusion: An external locus of control is associated with poor mental health regardless of cultural context.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 600941 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Volume | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Apr 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome (Grant ref: 217065/Z/19/Z) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. SZ and SS are supported by the Biomedical Research Center at the University of Bristol. This publication is the work of the authors and University of Bristol will service as guarantors for the contents of this paper. IC is supported by the Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship in Humanities and Social Science (Grant ref: 212664/Z/18/Z). The Tokyo TEEN Cohort Study was supported by a Japan Scientific Research Grant on an Innovative Area from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI 16H06395, 16H06398, 16H06399, 16K21720, and 19H04877); a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI 20H01777 and 20H03951); and a Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science Project Grant (Kokoronokenko H27-H31).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Sullivan, Yamasaki, Ando, Endo, Kasai, Culpin, Dardani, Zammit and Nishida.
Keywords
- psychotic-like experiences
- locus of control
- externality
- ALSPAC
- depression
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