Ethnic differences in beliefs about control.

Abstract

A set of widely used measures of personal control taken from Rotter's (1966) internal-external scale failed to demonstrate an adequate degree of internal consistency for the Black subsample of a survey of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The unreliability of the personal control dimension among Blacks was pervasive: it was present within tall ge and educational groupings; it occurred regardless of the particular interviewer involved; it was equally prominent in both sexes; and, finally, it recurred in most respects in a comparable survey. Such unreliability was specific to Blacks: the personal control dimension did show satisfactory internal consistency for corresponding subsamples of Anglos and Chlcanos. The theoretical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed, and their ramifications for social indicator research noted.