Borderline hypertensives volunteering for follow-up and biofeedback. A preliminary study: locus of control characteristics.
We compared the locus of control scores of the following groups: (1) 19 male borderline hypertensives volunteering for biofeedback treatment; (2) 100 consecutive males who were screened for hypertension; (3) 30 male cancer patients receiving radiation therapy, and (4) the normative data from college students. The biofeedback volunteer group was significantly more internal in locus of control as compared to all other groups. The locus of control of the borderline hypertensives within the screened population did not differ from the normotensives, but the screened population as a whole had a relatively internal locus of control. Our findings imply that the 'internals' may be more attracted to self-control treatments like biofeedback, and data generated from this particular population may have limited generalizability, especially in regard to 'externals'.