[Locus of control in girls with anorexia readiness syndrome]

The aim of the research was to indicate whether there are differences between locus of control (LOC) in girls with anorexia readiness syndrome (ARS) and without this syndrome. There was also a question about the relationship between LOC and the tendency to respond in incorrect attitudes towards food, eating and their bodies under stress.

The sample consisted of girls aged 13-18 years randomly selected from five public Polish middle and high schools. Tools: 1) Eating Attitudes Questionnaire (EAQ) by B. Ziółkowska; 2) Locus of Control Questionnaire (LOCQ) by G. Krasowicz, A. Kurzyp-Wojnarska, to assess LOC of the subjects. The criterion group (N=23) was formed by girls who received high score in EAQ (signs of ARS) in the first stage of research (N=189). The control group (N = 23) were girls who received a low score in EAQ (no signs of ARS).

Subjects with ARS were characterized by more external LOC than girls without any signs of this syndrome (t = -2.898; p < 0.01). The results did not confirm the hypothesis about the relationship between LOC and the tendency to respond by abnormal attitude to eating and own body in difficult situations in both groups.

In pathogenesis of ARS where anorexic behaviors can become a way to a regain lost control, LOC may play a role as a mediating variable rather than a direct determinant of this syndrome.