Optimism and locus of control for health and affiliation among elderly adults

Ninety-two elderly adults ranging in age from 69 to 100 and residing in a retirement community were administered the Life Orientation Test (LOT) (a self-report measure of optimism), the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Affiliation Scale (MMC-AF), and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLC). It was hypothesized that optimism would be correlated positively with internal locus of control measures and correlated negatively with external locus of control measures in the areas of affiliation and health. Five of nine comparisons between optimism and locus of control measures yielded significant relationships, all in the expected direction.