the relationship between intenud and external locus of control, depression and educdjional performance among hamedan medical school students

386 students (181 female and 205 male) were selected randomly and asked to complete a demographic data sheet. rutter's internal and external locus of control and the beck depression inventory. data were analyzed by t-test and analysis of variance (anova). the results revealed, that 28% of students exhibited external locus of control, whereas, 72% exhibited internal locus of control. the mean scores of internal and external locus of control and depression were significantly different in male and female groups. the ~ students evidenced internal locus of control and showed more interest in their major field of study than those with external locus of control. however, there was no significant difference between the grade point averages of those who liked their majors and those who did not suicidal thoughts and feelings of hopelessness were observed significantly more in those with external locus of control than the other group. also internal locus of control was negatively related to the level of depression. decline in educational performance rated significantly at higher level in the external locus of control group, compared with the internal locus of control group. pearson correlation coefficient did not reveal any significant relationship between improvement in the subject's grade point average and internal locus of control