The Effect of Locus of Control and Perceptions of School Environment on Outcome in Three School Drug Abuse Prevention Programs

Abstract

Student locus of control and perceptions of school environment were investigated for their effect on outcome in three Alternatives-based school drug abuse prevention programs. Multivariate and univariate analyses of covariance were conducted on experimental and control students separately. For experimental students, locus of control was significant in the multivariate analysis: Internal students scored lower on the drug-related measures and higher on self-esteem. Certain interactions between locus of control and school environment perceptions also significantly affected some outcome variables. Analyses for controls yielded no significant confounding results.