An Exploratory Study of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) among Female Students in a French Context

Background: The aim of this study is to test with an exploratory approach the relevance of the 3 MHLC sub-scales while examining the answers of a group of 61 female students in a French context. The Locus of control is acknowledged to be a personality variable which proves to be a good predictor of health problems according to its internal or external orientation.

Methods: In order to study the relationships between the different items of the 3 sub-scales and the way the students’ answers are configured, we performed a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and we grouped the female students by using a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA).

Results: Analysis with MCA clearly reveals the 3 subscales and within our sample 4 classes of female students are identified by means of HCA.

Conclusion: While confirming the relevance of the 3 MHLC subscales, this study shows that in this sample of French female students, 4 personality profiles appear with differentiated perceptions of control.