Locus of control, deppressive symptoms and perceived academic achievement of learners: a systemic review

Abstract

The work aimed at reviewing studies on locus of control, depressive symptoms and academic performance of learners generally. It threw more light on the variables of the study for the benefit of the upcoming psychologists, highlighted the state of art in the area and emphasized the benefits of the work so far done. From the review, more research results showed relationship between external locus of control and depression, especially congruent externals. Internal LOC, stable and global attributions for positive events predicted high levels of academic performance. Congruent externality relates positively to depression compared to defensive externality. Stable attribution for negative events were related to high levels of performance in high achieving schools but not in low achieving schools. Significant negative relationship was found between self reported depressive symptoms and college academic performance. Learners with depressive symptoms experience more academic challenges than normal students. It was postulated that having depressive symptoms may not be tied to one`s attribution style, but making a realistic attribution. The work recommended among others that depressogenic attribution questionnaire be used in identifying students with depressogenic attribution style for training in realistic appraisal. Also further studies are required to compare the depression status of defensive externals with that of the internals and to compare their academic performance.

KEYWORDS: Locus of control, attribution styles, depressive symptoms & academic performance