Exploring the impacts of perceived locus of control on post‐traumatic stress disorder among disaster survivors: A systematic review

Abstract

Accessible SummaryWhat is known on the subject? It was previously reported that perceived external locus of control may exacerbate depressive symptoms, is associated with anxiety, boosts stress and general mental distress and weakens resilience against traumatic situations or difficulties. What the paper adds to existing knowledge? Those with a higher external locus of control are more prone to develop PTSD symptoms since the perceived external locus of control is among the predictors of PTSD. An internal locus of control is considered important in preventing PTSD, although an external locus of control appears to be a variable that causes/increases the prevalence of PTSD. What are the implications for practice? It is known that nurses are deployed in clinical and fieldwork during disaster and assume key roles both interventional practices and psychosocial education. Thus, it is of particular importance for mental health nurses to be aware of the locus of control in themselves, their colleagues, and the community before, during and after disasters to be able to combat the risk/presence of PTSD. AbstractAimThe present systematic review explored the impacts of perceived locus of control on PTSD among individuals experiencing disasters.MethodThis is a systematic review study carried out through a search of the relevant research published in English over the period December 2021 to April 2022. Accordingly, we sought the studies to review on the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases using the keywords “Child, Children, Adolescent, Adolescence, Adult, Aged, Elderly, Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, Internal‐External Control, Locus of Control, Disasters, Natural Disasters.”ResultsA total of 1.011 studies were found in the five databases using the keywords above. Following the exclusions, the remaining six studies were recruited for this systematic review. The six studies in question addressed earthquakes (2), hurricanes (1), wildfires (1), SARS (1) and fireworks explosions (1). In the study with wildfire survivors, there was a weak significant association between external locus of control and PTSD among those directly exposed to the disaster (r = .15, p < .01). The study with survivors of the SARS epidemic demonstrated that those with a high perceived chance (external) locus of control suffered PTSD (p = .001). An internal locus of control is considered important in preventing PTSD, although an external locus of control appears to be a variable that causes/increases the prevalence of PTSD.ConclusionIt was concluded that perceived locus of control is related to PTSD in individuals experiencing a disaster. The additional evidence was that post‐disaster PTSD among those with a high perceived external locus of control is stronger than those with a high perceived internal locus of control.