Reliability and validity of the Orthodontic Locus of Control Scale

The Orthodontic Locus of Control (OLOC) Scale was developed to assess the ways in which persons perceive and evaluate the events that determine occlusal status and orthodontic treatment. The children's OLOC Scale is a 34-item self-administered inventory with a 6-point response format. The adult measure is a similar, 28-item version of the scale. A 6-item Occlusal Value Scale, was also developed for administration in conjunction with the OLOC Scale. These instruments were given to 51 children and their mothers who applied for treatment at the School of Dental Medicine's Orthodontic Clinic of the State University of New York at Buffalo. For validity studies, children and their mothers completed the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (HLOC) Scale and the Orthodontic Opinion Poll (OOP) Subscales. The internal consistency estimates for reliability on both the child and parent versions of the OLOC Scales were in the moderate to high-moderate range. Moderate to high-moderate subscale correlations offer promise for the validity and usefulness of the Orthodontic Locus of Control Scale for future research on psychologic and social responses to malocclusion. The implications of the concept of "orthodontic locus of control" for orthodontists and parent-child treatment-related behaviors are discussed.