Locus of Control vs Quality of life Essay

The locus of control measures the rational one has on how they assess the nature of cause and effect in their life. Studies show that the measure of control one interprets they have on the incidents in their life the better quality of life they lead. This is the core concept of the relationship between locus of control and quality of life, as well as the main topic of debate for many scholars. In his study† Community Correlates of Outcomes in Subjects with Panic Attacks†, David A. Katerndahl utilizes structured interviews of randomly selected adults from 18 different census tracts to measure the way they perceive their lives. All of those studied are college students, and lack of control directly correlates with stress. Oddly enough, the stressors that apply to these students tend to be some of the same stressors that apply to the lives of everyday working people. For instance Katerndahl notes that one significant stressor all of the students shared had to do with an inadequacy over their income to rent ratio. He ultimately concludes that there is a direct connection that can be made between quality of life and the control one feels they have over occurrences. He connects this finding with cases of panic attacks. The 97 subjects with panic attacks included 78% females, 56% Hispanics, and 30% non-hispanic whites (Katerndahl, 2001). More than anything Katerndahl’s work serves as an adamant argument for women being vulnerable to life stressors and anxiety being a detriment to their health. One major problem in society that is mentally affecting women is the culture of thinness. There is a constant pressure placed on women to be attractive, thin, and fit into the valley girl image established by films As a result, women are more likely to develop eating disorders. Anorexia, an eating disorder that involves drastic fasting, and Bulimia, which consists of binge eating followed by any compensatory behavior, are virtually nonexistent in men (Katerndahl, 2001). Both of these disorders lead to serious health problems but anorexia ultimately leads to death by starvation. It is thought that these disorders are caused by a perceived lack of control in their lives; which is balanced by these women having complete control over their looks. Discrimination against unattractive or overweight women is an unspoken prejudice. This epidemic of attaining physical perfection is actually an unnecessary and harmful setback for women. Here the locus of control, or lack of control, these women feel prevalent in their lives leads to cases of bulimia, anorexia, and even death. While Katerndahl’s study seems to imply that women are more prone to anxiety and and feeling a lack of control. Biologically, research shows that men and women are actually not all that different. Pertaining to cognition, men are more suited for mental rotation, navigation using geometry and recognizing objects within visual backgrounds. Women show better memory for locating objects and navigating through the use of landmarks (Allen, Goldscheider, & Ciambrone, 1999; Baider et al. , 1995; Ben-Tov, 1992; Ptacek et al. , 1994). As far as motor skills, from age 3-5 years old onward, men show an exceptional accuracy at aiming projectiles, while women show the ability for exceptional speech rate and small amplitude coordination. Pertaining to math skills, men are best suited for solving abstract reasoning problems, while women tend to be statistically best at computation and calculation problem solving. As far as verbal abilities go, women show earlier development of virtually every aspect of verbal ability, verbal memory, spelling grammar and fluency (Oren & Sherer, 2001). When emotions come into play, men and women use different areas of their brains to control sexuality, but most of the chemical systems overlap and most of the social bonding is somehow connected to the sexual process. Men and women have different forms of aggression. In most mammals, men tend to be the aggressor; many forms of aggression are controlled through different neural pathways (Oren & Sherer, 2001). BNST manages ‘affective attack’; this region is sensitized by testosterone and desensitized by estrogen. AVP stimulation increases aggressive behavior and drives persistence; circuits for this neuron are also more prevalent in males than in Females (Allen, Goldscheider, & Ciambrone, 1999; Baider et al. , 1995; Ben-Tov, 1992; Ptacek et al. , 1994). The mild biological differences that exist between men and women can only be significantly contrast their methods of responding to stress when the stressor in some way capitalizes on either sex’s chemical weakness. For example, men are psychologically more prone to substance abuse; a man under the influence of a substance that inhibits or enhances the circulation of AVP would affect the testosterone levels in the male’s body, thus making him more or less aggressive. This shift in behavior would entirely be dependent on whether the male abuses substances as a coping strategy for stress. This would have the same effect for a woman, but men are more prone to this dysfunctional behavior. Oddly enough, maternal stress can lead to a drop testosterone development desynchronizing or preventing masculinization. Stress can also effect the human body’s ability to heal itself when sick or influence the method of coping with disease. The biological assessment of both men and women show that at the core of the human mind everyone has a similar breaking point or defining line that depending on circumstances could drive any individual toward a panic attack. Katerndahl’s end finding sums it up best when he say, â€Å"This study found that, with the exception of overall quality of life, all of the assessed outcomes were associated with at least one community factor, accounting for up to 15% of outcome variance. Although previous work found that country-level variables (i. e. , unemployment, gross national product) were not related to morbidity or work satisfaction [Benavides et al. , 2000], this does not imply a lack of impact by neighborhood level factors (Katerndahl, 2001). † Here he is basically pointing out that in all of the events that occurred in the lives of each respective college individual, all of the students at least felt that 15% of the effects they endured were caused by community events out of their control. Which is understandable, but it also suggests there is a window for perceived helplessness in the psyche of all individuals, a panic attack is just dependant on the measure of one’s locus of control. Everything has a cause and effect, and while an individual can dictate their course of actions, sometimes the effect can be unpredictable and completely controlled by community events. For example, Katerndahl mentions how a major source of anxiety for many people is maintaining an adequate rent to income ratio. An individual who has a weak sense of control might fall into a morbid depression over their income which is ultimately designated by the government, so they rightfully feel as though they are catching a bad break; but, they also have the option of working more hours, or bettering their education for higher pay. In this scenario the locus of control is decided by deeply one buys into the illusion of being without options. This is a characteristic that many of the scholars suggest is measured by socioeconomic factors, such as upbringing, family education, and the environment of one’s neighborhood. This is the core concept in Jerome J. Tobacyk’s work. In Tobacyk’s article Changes in Locus of Control Beliefs in Polish University Students Before and After Democratization, he argues that sociocultural changes through changes that occurred through the democratization of Poland ultimately allowed for shifts in the locus of control perceived by Polish citizens. He directly connects ones economic circumstance to the extent of which they can construct their life. He argues that the ability of one to reinvent themselves was seen as a luxury only accessible to the financial elite before Poland became a legitimate democracy. As he notes, â€Å"The recent dramatic democratization movement in Poland allowed a study of the effects of the transformation from an external control to an internal control sociocultural situation on individual locus of control beliefs. This study compares the locus of control beliefs of Polish university students before (in 1985) and just after (in 1991) the profound sociocultural change of democracy. Here it becomes clear that the imediet newfound belief that one can achieve entirely independent of heritage, race, religion, or sex has the ability to uplift the moral of an entire nation. The author further notes that, â€Å"The most dramatic transformation was the change toward internal control (ie. Autonomy, independence, self-determination) in the sociopolitical effort (Tobacyk, 2001). † In sum, with their studies, these scholars show that one’s perceived happiness is just a measure of the control they insist they have over their respective circumstances. They can only insist they have this control, because even this control is just based on perception. As Katerndahl’s study shows only a fool would live as though outside forces have no effect on one’s life just as a lunatic might believe their life is completely driven by predestined events. Work Cited Allen, S. M. , Goldscheider, F. , & Ciambrone, D. A. (1999). Gender roles, marital intimacy and nomination of spouse as primary caregiver. Gerontologist,39, 150–158. Almeida, D. M. , & Kessler, R. C. (1998) Everyday stressors and gender differences in daily. distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75,670–680 Long J. D. , & Williams R. L. (1988) The relationship of Locus of Control to Life Style Habits. Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 44, no. 2 Katerndahl, M. D. , M. A. (2001) Community Correlates of Outcomes in Subjects with Panic Attacks. Depression and Anxiety 13:194–197 Oren, N. , & Sherer, M. (2001). Cancer Patients and their Spouses: Gender and its Effect on Psychological and Social Adjustment. Journal of Health Psychology, 6(3), 329-338. Retrieved Sep. 18, 2008, from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Simon%20Breedon/My%20Documents/Gender%20Differences-Coping%20with%20Stress. pdf. Tobacyk, J. (2001). Changes in Locus of Control Beliefs in Polish University Students Before and After Democratization. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132(2), 217-222