Health locus of control and self-esteem as related to adolescent health behavior and intentions

A health behavior and attitudes questionnaire was administered to 246 fifth-grade and 265 sixth-grade students during class time. The questions included 20 children's health locus of control (CHLC) items reported by Parcel and Meyer (1978), 17 children's self-esteem (CSE) items modified from those reported by Coopersmith (1967), and questions concerning past and current behavior and future intentions with respect to cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and marijuana use. The results indicate that the relationships between dimensions of children's health locus of control and self-esteem and their behaviors and intentions are not large enough to suggest that intervention programs directed at the prevention of detrimental health behaviors focus on the enhancement of self-esteem or the internal locus of control. An appropriate test of the efficacy of such an approach requires a longitudinal rather than a cross-sectional study, monitoring changes in the levels of self-esteem and health locus of control and associated changes in health behavior.