Control beliefs of adults in three domains: a new assessment of perceived control

Preliminary analyses (N = 205; age range 30 to 80 years) were performed with a new measure of perceived control to assess control beliefs in specific domains, examine cross-sectionally groups' age differences in perceived control and compare control beliefs for the various domains within age groups. This measure was hypothesized to yield greater conceptual clarity of the assessment of perceived control than other instruments by measuring specifically beliefs about control over desired outcomes without confounding these with beliefs about what it takes to get desired outcomes. Factor analyses clearly supported separation of control in the cognitive, social, and health domains. Intercorrelations indicated generally low relations among the three factors, and internal consistencies indicated satisfactory reliability. Participants in their 70s showed in the cognitive domain significantly lower perceptions of control than individuals in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, in the health domain significantly lower perceptions of control than individuals in their 60s, and in the social domain significantly lower perceptions of control than individuals in their 40s and 50s. Generally, for all three domains a stability in in control beliefs appeared across the age groups studied until the 70s, at which age there was a significant drop in mean control beliefs. Mean differences in control beliefs among domains within age groups were nonsignificant.