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RELATIONSHIP OF LOCUS OF CONTROL ON WEIGHT LOSS AND MAINTENANCE OF WEIGHT LOSS

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Date Issued:
1986
Summary:
The treatment of obesity has been a challenge for health professionals. Treatment failures point to the need for research to isolate variables contributing to success. A major drawback in most of the research is the lack of long-term follow-up evaluations. The purpose of this study was to identify variables which may predict an individual's success at maintaining weight loss. The two independent variables studied were status of weight control and methods of treatment. The status of weight control had two levels: individuals who maintained a weight loss for at least two years (maintainers) and individuals who had regained weight loss (regainers). The method of treatment had three levels: group, individual, and self-administered. The dependent variable was locus of control, which indicates how individuals perceive control over their environment. Individuals who perceived they had control over their environment were classified as having an internal locus of control, while those individuals who perceived they did not have control over their environment were classified as external. There were 54 females over the age of 21, who qualified as subjects. Subject selection was based on the Weight History Questionnaire. The Reid and Ware Three Factor Internal-External Scale was administered to all subjects and provided three separate locus of control scores: self-control, social system control, and fatalism. A 2 x 3 analysis of variance factorial design was utilized for each of the internal-external factors. The results showed a significant difference on the self-control and fatalism factor, where the maintainers were more internal than the regainers. The maintainers and the regainers, also differed significantly in age, highest weight achieved, and maintenance period. No significant differences were found on the social system control factor. A significant interaction effect was found on the fatalism factor. The possible significance of using locus of control to facilitate weight control may be found in the self-control and fatalism factors. Internal self-control and internal fatalism was shown to be characteristics of maintainers. The fatalism factor also showed that internals were more successful in a self-administered program or an individual treatment, whereas externals were more successful in a group treatment.
Title: THE RELATIONSHIP OF LOCUS OF CONTROL ON WEIGHT LOSS AND MAINTENANCE OF WEIGHT LOSS.
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Name(s): ROTHSTEIN, SANDRA J.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1986
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 140 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The treatment of obesity has been a challenge for health professionals. Treatment failures point to the need for research to isolate variables contributing to success. A major drawback in most of the research is the lack of long-term follow-up evaluations. The purpose of this study was to identify variables which may predict an individual's success at maintaining weight loss. The two independent variables studied were status of weight control and methods of treatment. The status of weight control had two levels: individuals who maintained a weight loss for at least two years (maintainers) and individuals who had regained weight loss (regainers). The method of treatment had three levels: group, individual, and self-administered. The dependent variable was locus of control, which indicates how individuals perceive control over their environment. Individuals who perceived they had control over their environment were classified as having an internal locus of control, while those individuals who perceived they did not have control over their environment were classified as external. There were 54 females over the age of 21, who qualified as subjects. Subject selection was based on the Weight History Questionnaire. The Reid and Ware Three Factor Internal-External Scale was administered to all subjects and provided three separate locus of control scores: self-control, social system control, and fatalism. A 2 x 3 analysis of variance factorial design was utilized for each of the internal-external factors. The results showed a significant difference on the self-control and fatalism factor, where the maintainers were more internal than the regainers. The maintainers and the regainers, also differed significantly in age, highest weight achieved, and maintenance period. No significant differences were found on the social system control factor. A significant interaction effect was found on the fatalism factor. The possible significance of using locus of control to facilitate weight control may be found in the self-control and fatalism factors. Internal self-control and internal fatalism was shown to be characteristics of maintainers. The fatalism factor also showed that internals were more successful in a self-administered program or an individual treatment, whereas externals were more successful in a group treatment.
Identifier: 11880 (digitool), FADT11880 (IID), fau:8802 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (Educat.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1986.
College of Education
Subject(s): Control (Psychology)
Obesity
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/11880
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.