The principal goal of this study was to examine within and between group differences in relation to locus of control in the Northeast of Brazil (Paraiba), and compare these results with those found in Mexico (Sonara desert). For this purpose an analysis of the psychometric properties of an instrument designed to evaluate the locus of control was carried out. The study is based on a sample of 600 subjects, distributed according to age and gender quotas, forming three age groups (each group containing 100 women and 100 men): 14-22; 23-35 and 36-70 years of age. Descriptive statistics for each item, Student t test to analyse the descriptive power of each item, factor analysis, and internal consistency indexes were calculated. Reyes scale (1995) was used; this instrument was validated for the Mexican population, and consists of 78 items with seven optional answers using a Likert pictorial scale. Factor analysis indicated the existence of four factors that accounted for 36.2% of the total variance. Afer the deletion of seven items the scale of the remaining 71 items showed a coefficient alpha of .93. From these results one derives the accuracy of the scale, whose utility is guaranteed in situations to which it has been validated.
locus of control; personality; construct validity; Northeast of Brazil
