Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales
Greetings Fellow Health Researchers
From Kenneth A. Wallston, PhD
Thank you for inquiring about our MHLC scales. All three forms and the scoring instructions of the MHLC are available just by clicking the "hot links" and printing out a particular form. Also, please be sure to read the FAQ page that contains answers to many Frequently Asked Questions about how to use the scales in research studies.
Forms A & B are the "general" health locus of control scales that have been in use since the mid-late 1970's (and were first described in Wallston, Wallston, & DeVellis, 1978, Health Education Monographs, 6, 160-170.) Each of these two "equivalent" forms contain three 6 item subscales: internality; powerful others externality; and chance externality. In the past 30 years, forms A/B have been used in over a thousand studies and have been cited in the literature hundreds of times.
Form C is designed to be "condition-specific" and can be used in place of Form A/B when studying people with an existing health/medical condition. [The way you make this happen is to replace the word "condition" in each item with whatever condition (e.g., arthritis, diabetes, pain, etc.) your subjects have.] Like Forms A/B, Form C also has 18 items, but, instead of a single 6 item powerful others subscale, Form C has two, independent 3 item subscales: doctors, and other people. Form C is described in Wallston, Stein, & Smith, 1994, Journal of Personality Assessment, 63, 534-553.
We consider all three forms of the MHLC to be "in the public domain." That means that you are free to use the scales in your research (and to alter them for your research in any way you choose) without obtaining our explicit permission. We do ask, however, that you cite the scales correctly if/when you use them. If you are a student, you have our permission to include a copy of scale(s) in the appendix to your thesis or dissertation; otherwise, it would be unethical to publish these scales without obtaining our explicit written permission to do so.
For those who are studying the relationship between religious beliefs and health, we have also developed the God Locus of Health Control (GLHC) scale. The GLHC contains 6 items and can be used alone or in conjunction with one of the forms of the MHLC. There are two versions of the GLHC: one assess the belief that God control's one's health in general; the other assesses the belief that God controls changes in one's medical condition. Click here for a copy of the GHLC items.
For more information, click here to send an e-mail message or mail a request to:
Ken Wallston, PhD
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
Godchaux Hall
21st Avenue South
