Cultural meaning of perceived control: A meta-analysis of locus of control and psychological symptoms across 18 cultural regions

Cheng (2013) · Psychological Bulletin · Read the paper

Cheng and colleagues meta-analyse more than four decades of studies on locus of control and psychological symptoms. They ask whether the strength of the link differs among cultures with different individualist orientations and whether depression and anxiety show different cultural patterns. The analysis covers a large number of independent samples of adults across many cultural regions. External locus of control relates moderately strongly to both depression and anxiety symptoms, and individualism explains part of the variation between cultures.

Cheng and colleagues meta-analyse more than four decades of studies on locus of control and psychological symptoms. They ask whether the strength of the link differs among cultures with different individualist orientations and whether depression and anxiety show different cultural patterns. The analysis covers a large number of independent samples of adults across many cultural regions. External locus of control relates moderately strongly to both depression and anxiety symptoms, and individualism explains part of the variation between cultures.

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Cheng, C., Cheung, S. F., Chio, J. H., & Chan, M.-P. S. (2013). Cultural meaning of perceived control: A meta-analysis of locus of control and psychological symptoms across 18 cultural regions. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 152-188. doi:10.1037/a0028596