Relationship between Locus of Control and Performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners, Part I, among Black Medical Students

Abstract

Several investigators have recently suggested that nonacademic factors may be particularly important in the performance of minority medical students. This study examined the relationship between the personality variable of locus of control and black medical students' performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners I. Subjects included 50 third- and fourth-year medical students of African-American, Caribbean, and African backgrounds from 4 medical schools. An internal locus of control was correlated with test performance, whereas the more traditional index of the Medical College Admissions Test was not. Implications of these results for the preparation, admission, and training of black medical students are discussed.