The relationships of two measures of perceived control to depression

Investigated the general hypothesis that assessment of control perceptions as a factor in depression should involve measurement of both generalized expectancies and currently experienced control. Sixty-two college students completed the Rotter I-E scale, the Tiffany Experienced Control Scale (E-C) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results indicated that the E-C dimensions of experienced control over internal (OI) and over external (OE) forces interacted with I-E scores in predicting depression. In each case, internals with high experienced control reported less depression than low control internals and both high and low control externals. Implications for use of I-E and E-C scores in planning and evaluating treatment of depressives are discussed, and suggestions for future research on the utility of the E-C scale are presented.