Mental health locus of control in first-degree relatives of agoraphobic and depressed inpatients.

Mental health locus of control in 77 first-degree relatives of agoraphobic, agoraphobic and major depressed (comorbid), and depressed inpatients were studied. Relatives of comorbid patients externalized locus of control more to chance than did relatives of agoraphobic and of depressed patients. These results suggest that a tendency to externalize to chance is familially transmitted and may be a vulnerability factor for the development of the comorbid condition of agoraphobia and major depression.