Abstract
Locus of control and self-esteem were examined as moderators of links between negative life events and psychological symptoms in 238 young people 8 to 16 years old. Results indicated that locus of control buffered the effects of stressors on psychological symptoms, and the pattern of buffering did not differ by age or gender. Self-esteem buffered the link between Stressors and symptoms, but only for girls. Further analyses with girls only revealed a conjunctive moderation effect of locus of control and self-esteem: When faced with many negative life events, girls who have both an external locus of control and low esteem show the highest psychological maladjustment.
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The writing of this article was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Training grant 5 T 32 MH18387-03 in Child Mental Health/Primary Prevention.
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Kliewer, W., Sandler, I.N. Locus of control and self-esteem as moderators of stressor-symptom relations in children and adolescents. J Abnorm Child Psychol 20, 393–413 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00918984
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00918984