Association between Locus of Control and Depression among Emerging Adult Students: A Case of United States International University - Africa

Depression affects the cognitive, psychosocial and emotional functioning of university students. There is a dearth of information regarding the relationship between locus of control orientation and depression among university students in Kenya. The aim of the study was to demonstrate association between locus of control and depression among emerging adult students 18-29 years old in USIU-Africa. The research adopted a descriptive correlational design. A total of 83 respondents were enlisted through convenience and snowball nonprobability sampling techniques. Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items scale were used to collect data for the study. The prevalence of symptoms of depression among emerging adult university students was 73.5%. Amongst the responders, 31.3% had mild symptoms of depression, 15.7% had moderate and moderately severe symptoms of depression respectively while 10.8% experienced severe symptoms of depression. Regarding locus of control orientation, 65.1% of the responders exhibited external locus of control orientation while 34.9% had internal locus of control disposition. The mean locus of control score was 13.168 (SD±4.253). The study established a significant positive association between external locus of control and symptoms of depression (r = .31, p = .02) among emerging adult university students. However, there was no significant relationship between internal locus of control and symptoms of depression (r = .16, p = .41). Further research is recommended to determine the effectiveness of locus of control training in the intervention and prevention of symptoms of depression among this vulnerable category of university students.