[Real-life Experiences for Control and Pseudo-internal Locus of Control in Alcoholics]

Reynaert, Christine [MONT] Janne, Pascal [UCL] Zdanowicz, Nicolas [MONT] Croonenberghs, A. Roussaux, Jean-Paul [UCL]

In clinical practice with alcoholics we frequently encounter a phenomenon whereby the subject claims he is able to cope with a situation, whereas in reality he cannot This discrepancy between the claimed and the actual capacity for << control >> led us to devise a study which would permit a better understanding of the phenomenon. We gave patients two questionnaires which deal with the concept of control. Comparison of the MHLC (Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, Wallston, 1978; a questionnaire which investigates the subjective degree of control in relation to health) and the GEFT (Group Embedded Figures Test, Witkin, 1971; a questionnaire which focuses more on actual behaviour and field-dependency) allowed us to test the hypothesis that alcoholics have a << pseudointernal >> locus of control, that although, in what they say, they evince a strongly internal subjective locus of control, in reality they are particularly external and dependent. The data confirm that the tendency towards; an << internal >> selfportrayal on the MHLC which is not backed up by the GEFT is significantly higher in alcoholics than in nonalcoholic subjects. Thus, all in all, this supports the hypothesis of a << pseudointernality >> in alcoholics.