Development of General External-control Questionnaire for Children (GEQC)

Abstract

Locus of control has been found to be associated with a number of problems in health and behaviors of children. Although there are a few standardized questionnaires for children to measure it, they are not without shortcomings that make interpretation of results ambiguous. So in the present study, a new standardized scale for external locus of control (GEQC) was developed for Japanese children, aged between the 4th and the 6th grades. In Study 1, the new questionnaire was administered to children of the age (n=466) to investigate its factor structure. As a result, it was found that one factor could be measured with 16 items. In Study 2, the questionnaire was administered to children of the age (n=1,349) and some of their classroom teachers nominated children that typically characterize external control, and some children rated their classmates on the same dimension. In addition, in order to check its reliability, it was administered twice, separated by about five weeks, to some of the children (n=205). Thus, in this study, reliability and validity of the questionnaire were investigated. Results showed that it was reliable and internally consistent, and showed concurrent validity.