Abstract
Adolescent boys can either possess an internal or an external locus of control. An internal locus of control refers to a perception of being in control of one’s own life through own decisions and abilities. An external locus of control refers to the opposite, meaning a belief in luck and fate and also that one is being controlled by powers outside oneself. With these different perceptions, especially with the last perception, the high expectations of society of adolescent boys, can lead to frustrations. This can lead to aggression, consisting of physical, verbal and/or indirect aggression, which might be one of the possible causes of aggression in schools.
Consequently a questionnaire consisting of 56 items was compiled by a combination of Julian Rotter’s (www.ballarat.edu.au/ard/bssh/psych/rot.htm) “Locus of control” questionnaire (1966) - and Björkqvist, Lagerspetz and Österman’s (www.vasa.abo.fi/svf/up/dias.htm) DIAS (“Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale) questionnaire (1992). Biographical items, namely language of instruction, age and grade of learners, were included as independent variables in the questionnaire.
The questionnaire was completed by 184 boys from School A and 256 boys from School B in Grade 9-11. From the factor analysis, three factors were distinguished consisting of physical, verbal and indirect aggression. All the factors consisted of a high Cronbach Alpha (physical aggression=0.847, verbal aggression=0.820 and indirect aggression=0.845) which reflected a high validity and reliability of the research instrument.
According to the relational analysis there was a relationship between external locus of control and especially verbal and indirect aggression, although very slightly. From the differential analysis, it has been judged according to the low averages, that the tendency of the different ways of aggression in language, age and grade are not prominent enough. Yet the following findings were made:
• from language of instruction a meaningful difference was found, although with an average of only 0.2, it is not substantial;
• age wise it was found that the 15 year old adolescent boys’ indirect aggression was statistically meaningful lower than the 17 year old boys; and lastly
• grade in general reflects that the grade 9 learners of specifically School A, were more aggressive (physically, verbally and indirectly) than the grade 10 and 11 learners.
From the literature study and empirical search, a definite relationship was found between adolescent boys with an external locus of control and aggression. With the increase of aggressive and violent behaviour in schools, this research topic has relevant and important educational implications for all parties that form part of the educational process.