EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING & LOCUS OF CONTROL IN YOUNG ADULTS IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Psychological wellbeing (PWB) is a person’s ideal disposition of mental and emotional functioning, marked by positive emotions, satisfaction, serenity, resilience & purpose. These aspects are often influenced by locus of control (LOC), which enhances self-awareness & awareness of intrinsic capabilities. As LOC is a trait, knowing its links with PWB will illustrate the contribution of more permanent aspects of the personality in PWB. Most studies have not examined these important variables together. This research aims to bridge this knowledge gap and uncover predictive relationship between these factors and hypothesized that LOC would be correlated with to PWB. To conduct a cross-sectional survey a sample of 400 young adult participants from University of Karachi was drawn. Correlation that links LOC & various facets of psychological wellbeing is insignificant, except for correlation of internal LOC & personal growth, where there is slight negative correlation, as higher scores of the measure of LOC meant higher degrees of internal locus of control & vice versa. This result shows that the more external locus of control the more personal growth. This study sheds light on interesting perspective about the impact of perceived internal LOC on specific aspects of psychological well-being. These findings open new avenues for further research in this field.