The Impact of Locus of Control and Substance Abuse on Attitudes Towards Mental Illness

The current study investigated whether individuals with an internal locus of control would have more stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness compared to those with an external locus of control, with more pronounced negative attitudes towards mental illness and comorbid substance use compared to mental illness only. Sixty undergraduate students completed Rotter’s Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966a) and The Big Five Inventory (John & Srivastava, 1999) to assess aspects of personality. Participants’ attitudes were assessed by randomly assigning them to one of two vignettes: a man with mental illness only and a man with mental illness and comorbid substance use. Blame attributions were measured via questionnaire. A regression analysis indicated that locus of control and the vignette condition predicted blame attributions, as did openness. Mental illness with comorbid substance use disorder was the most stigmatized condition, and participants with an internal locus of control reported more negative attitudes overall compared to those with an external locus of control. The current study contributed to a better understanding of factors underlying stigma