PURPOSE I N LIFE, DEPRESSION, AND LOCUS OF CONTROL

WALTER M. PHILLIPS
Institvle Of Liairy
Hartford, Connedtmt
Parallel to Frankl’s theory of the search for meanin which qositg the aepa-
ratenesa but intertwining of the psychological andtaxistentid realms, the
Purpose In Life Test (PIL has been found to have a low to moderate relation-
1
ship with most concegtudl related psychological measures. Extending sepe
rate correlational stu ‘es o the PIL with depression and locus of control, the
current study inspected the relat.ionshi of individual PIL items to groups
formed amordin to Zung Self-Rating gepremion Scale and Rotter Internal-
8f
External Locus Control mores. One-hundred thirty-four Iss were split into
four grou 9 Depressed axternal depressed internals, nondepressed externals
and non&prwed internals. d t h o u h ungrouped correlational analysis o!
PIL items revealed only seven sign&ant relationships with depression and
two with locua of control, multiple discriminate analysis was successful in
correctly classifying depressed externals about three-fourths of the time, and
the overall “hit rate” for the four groups was above 60%. In addition to
further validating the interaction of purpose in life with related psychological
and social expectanc vsn’ablea, results indicated a compoundm effect b e
tween depregsion an$ external perception of reinforcement contr3 with PIL
scores in general, and two items (#4, 12) in articular, which appear to re-
flect the experience of current congruent invogement between the individual
and his world.

Construction of theories and operational definitions that employ existential

concepts requires that they offer additional understanding of the person than is
provided by existing methods, which are developed from the psychological realm,
yet at the same time be clinically meaningful. Despite eariler attempts to add
the existential dimension to the clinical regimen, which were lacking (cf. Kotchen,
1960), the Purpose In Life Test (PIL) (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964, 1969)
has gained increasing validity and acceptance as a clinical measure of Victor Frankl’s
concept of existential vacuum or meaninglessness of life purpose beyond or apart
from neurotic limitations.
Frankl’s (1963, 1969) view asserts that in addition to the resolution of neurotic
conflict, it is the task of every individual to discover a satisfying life purpose or
goal, and the task of the psychotherapist relates to both resolution of neurosis
and the development of this discovery (Frankl, 1965, 1967). In the development
of Logotherapy, to meet this latter task, Frankl further states that although neu-
rosis and the search for meaning are independent aspects or realms of the person,
most often they are clinically intertwined, and the neurotic limitations placed
on the search for meaning contribute to “noogenic neurosis”, which may be marked
by or result from neurotic symptoms. of apathy, disinterestedness, and feelings
of being controlled by haphazard life circumstances. It is the overall inspiritation
resultant from engagement in and existential transcendance to a meaningful world
that is stressed by Frankl.
An operational definition of existential vacuum to be employed in the clinic
would be expected to be both related to the level of psychological functioning
of the individual and t o discriminate meaningfully between those who have found
an experienced purpose or meaning and those who have not yet made this discovery.
The PIL was devised to meet this dual purpose. Validation studies have demon-
strated the PIL’s effectiveness in discriminating levels of occupational meaning-
fulness (Crumbaugh, 1968), degree of engagement in college campus activities
(Doerries, 1970), greater degrees of purpose among successful applicants to a
religious order (Crumbaugh, Raphael, & Shrader, 1970), and lesser degrees of
purpose among prison inmates (Reker, 1977). The report of experienced meaning-
661
662 Journal of Clinical Psychology, July, 1880, Vol. 36, No. 3.

fulness on the PIL also has been discriminated from the motivation to find purpose
(Reker & Cousins, 1979). In a comparison study of Frankl’s “existential vacuum”
and Maslow’s “self-actualization,” Phillips, Watkins, and No11 (1974) found a
moderate correlation (r = .39)between the PIL and the Time Competency scale
of the Personal Orientation Inventory, a standardized measure of self-actualized
unctioning. In their group of normal college students, those who expressed greater
purpose in life also were found to report living primarily in the present rather than
the past, with fuller awareness of, and in contact with, their emotional reactions.
In other cross-validational studies, greater degrees of meaningfulness have been
related to idealism and anti-hedonism (PIL and Wilson-Patterson Conservatism
Scale, rs = .36 and .33;Pearson & Sheffield, 1974) and to a positive world view
and the presence of transcendent goals (PIL and overall judges ratings, rs =
.65 and .28;Sharpe & Viney, 1973).
Research that has attempted to relate the PIL t o measures of personality
and psychopathology conceptually linked t o existential vacuum and/or noogenic
neurosis has revealed, for the most part, low t o moderate relationships, as would
be expected from the positing of the separateness of the existential and psycho-
logical realms, but with the whole person intertwining of the two. I n relation to
more clinically used measures, high PIL scorers have been found to be moderately
less neurotic and more sociable, as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory
(rs = .43 and -.48 between PIL and Sociability and Neuroticism scales of the
EPI; Pearson & Sheffield, 1974) with a preference for being in social groups and
for familiar and stable situations (TS = .33and .40between PIL and Kuder Prefer-
ence Scale scores; Yarnell, 1971). As would be expected of individuals with greater
meaningfulness in their lives, high PIL scorers also have been found to be moder-
ately less anxious (r = .52 with 16PF Anxiety scale; r = .60 with Spielberger
Anxiety Scale: Present State), and more self-confident ( r = .44 with 16PF Self
Confidence; Yarnell, 1971;Crumbaugh e t al., 1970). The PIL also has been used
to discriminate the lesser degree of life purposefulness of schizophrenic psychiatric
patients from a group of normal controls (Yarnell, 1971).
Although the PIL has been demonstrated to correlate as expected with other
measures of self-actualized functioning and .world view, of greater sociability
and demonstrated purpose, and with more clinical measures of anxiety, self-con-
fidence, and neuroticism, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the PJL’s
relationship to depression and perceived locus of control, two areas of psychological
functioning that theoretically would reflect significantly the experience and inter-
nalization of meaningfulness in the existeatial realm. Viewing the self-transcenent,
meaning-filled individual as existentially inspirited and engaged in an active and
assertive manner with his world, it would be expected that he/she would be rela-
tively free of neurotic depressive symptoms, feel-in realistic control of his own
destiny, and have a generalized expectency of reinforcement for meaningful be-
havior, Only two studies, however, have inspected overall PIL scores with Rotter’s
Internal-External Locus of Control scale and have found correlations that ranged
from -.32 for normals, to -.49 for schizophrenic persons (Yarnell, 1971), to
-.71 for prison inmates (Reker, 1977) between the two scales. Only one study
appears to be available that relates PIL to depression, as reported on the MMPI,
where a moderate, negative correlation was found (r = -.30; Crumbaugh &
Maholick, 1964). No research appears available that simultaneously inspects
both these conceptually linked psychological variables with purpose in life.
The present study inspected the relationship between the PIL and measures
of depression and locus of control. To enhance clinical meaningfulness of item
interpretation and with recognition that the PIL may be a multidimensional
test with as many as 10 factors (Reker & Cousins, 1979), specific attention was
paid to the 20 individual items of the PIL rather than to the simple sum of all
items as inspected in most previous research. As discussed by Crumbaugh and
Maholick (1969),the individual items have been found to be dlagnostically meaning-
 Purpose I n Life, Depression, and Locus of Control 663

ful in identifying particular areas of concern or experienced lack of meaning for

the individual patient. Thus, the focus of this study was to inspect the relationship
of each item, separately and in combination, with neurotic depression and generali-
zed expectancy of the source of reinforcement, or perceived locus of control.
METHOD
Subjects and Procedure
Ss were 134 college students who were enrolled in a Psychology Of Adjustment
course. They were 79 females and 55 males with a mean age of 19 years and ap-
proximately equal numbers of sophomores, juniors and seniors. Participation
in the study was entirely voluntary, was not a general course requirement, and
Ss’ grades for the course were in no way influenced by participation or declining
to participate. After completion of data collection the author explained to the Ss
the purpose of the project and the general nature of the techniques involved.
The Purpose In Life test, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Rotter Internal-
External Locus of Control scale were arranged in random order in booklets, and
the Ss completed these in a single session. All Ss completed the three techniques
in less than half an hour.
Materials
Purpose I n Life Test ( P I L ) . A 20-item1 7-point Likert-type scale, developed
by Crumbaugh and Maholick (1969) to measure the degree to which an individual
experiences purpose in his daily life. The aim of the test is t o detect existential
vacuum as described by Frankl. Numerically higher scores reflect increased pur-
posefulness or self-transcendence. For this study each item was evaluated as an
independent variable, and item content is listed in Table 1.
Zung Self Rating Depression Scale (SDS). A aO-item, self-administered scale
constructed by Zung (1965) to quantify the symptoms of clinical depression.
The items of the SDS tap the presence of a pervasive depressed affect, and its
physiological and psychological concomitants by rating their degree of occurance
from “A little of the time” (score of “1”) to “Most of the time” (score of “4”).
Higher total scores reflect greater degrees of reported depression. The SDS has
been found t o correlate positively with the depression scale of the MMPI and the
Hamilton Rating Scale of depression and t o differentiate depressed from non-
depressed patients (Brown & Zung, 1972; Zung, 1965, 1967). Of particular interest
in view of this study’s sample of normal college students is the SDS’s demonstrated
ability to differentiate between four levels (none, mild, moderate, severe) of severity
of depression as determined by physician’s global ratings (Biggs, Wylie, & Ziegler,
1978).
Internal-External Locus Of Control Scale ( I - E ) . A 23 (plus 6 filler) item(s),
forced-choice scale, developed by Rotter (1966) t o inspect the degree to which
social/behavioral reinforcement generally is perceived as deriving from one’s
own internally initiated actions or from external sources, such as fate, luck or
powerful others (cf. Rotter, 1975). The I-E is a broad-guage instrument of gen-
eralized expectency of source of reinforcement and is scored in the External di-
rection; i.e., higher scores reflect greater degrees of external expectancy, lower
scores greater internality. The I-E has been used in well over 600 studies to in-
vestigate a variety of situational responses and individual differences and con-
sistently has been found to have a low to moderate correlation with most measures
of depression (Rotter, 1975).
RESULTS
Items for the PIL, SDS, and I-E were scored according to the standard pro-
cedures, and all three revealed overall means and standard deviations typical
664 Journal of Clinical Psychology, July, 1080,Vol. $6,No. 3.

TABLE 1
BETWEEN
RELATTONSHXP OF THE PURPOSE
ITICMS INLIFETESTAND
DEPRESSION
AND Locus OF CONTROL
~ ~ ~~ ~~

Group means (8D) Pearson

PIL item 1 2 3 4 SDS LOC
1. I am usually exuberant,
enthusiastic. 4.3(1.3) 4.6(1.3) 5 . 2 ( . 9 ) 5.4(.9) -.22* -.11
2. Life to me seems always
exciting. 4.7(1.3) 4.8(1.7) 5 . 7 ( . 6 ) 5.7(.9) -.16 -.07
3. In life I have very clear
goals and aims. 4 . a ( i . 6 ) 5.5(1.2) 5 . 9 ( . s ) 5.9(.9) -.11 -.13
4. My personal existence is
very purposeful and
meaningful. 4.6(1.5) 5.8(1.2) 5 . 8 ( . 8 ) 6.1(.9) -.!24* -.26*
5. Every da is constantly new
and different. 4 . 0 ( 1 . 7 ) 5.0(1.6) 5.4(1.0) 5.6(1.0) -.27* -.20
6. If I could choose, I would
like nine more lives just
like this one. 4.7(1.5) 5.1(1.4) 5.8(.8) 5.8(1.0) -.18 -.14
7. After retiring, I wogd do
some of the excitxng
things I have always
wmted to do. 5.7(1.4) 6.2(1.1) 6.1(1.2) 6.1(1.2) .15 .04
8. In achievin life go& I have
progress3 to complete
fulfillment. 4.2(1.3) 5 . 0 ( . 7 ) 5.3(.7) 5.3(.9) -.15 -.12
9. My life is runnin over with
excitin good tknga. 4.7(1.5) 5.2(1.2) 5 . 4 ( . 9 ) 5.8(.9) -.22 -.13
10. If I shoukd die today, I
would feel that my llfe
has been ven worth-
while. 4 . 3 (1.5) 5 . 5 (1.1) 5 . 6 (1.0) 5 . 8 -.25* -.20
11. I n thinking of my lie, I
always SCM a rw on for my
being here. 3.6(1.5) 4 . 5 (2.0) 4.9 (1.6) 5 . 1 -.20 -.20
12. As I view the world in
relation to my life, the
world fits memnpfully
with my life. 3.5 (1.5) 4 . 2 (1.4) 4 . 8 (1.0) 5 . 1 --.26* - .25*
13. I am a very responsible
person. 4.9 (1.5) 5.4(1.4) 5.8 (1.0) 5 . 9 -.03 -.04
14. Concerning man’s freedom
to make his own choices, I
believe man is abao-
lute1 free to make all
life cioices. 4 . 7 ( 1 . 7 ) 5.1(1.7) 5.2(1.0) a . Q ( l . 2 ) -.13 -.I7
15. With regard to death, I am
prepared, unafrgd. 4.7(1.0) 4.9(1.8) 5.2(1.6) 5 . 1 U . 7 ) -.02 -.01
16. With regard to swcide, I
have never given it a
second thoyght. 3.9(2.1) 4.6(2.1) 5.5(1.8) 5 . 8 U . 6 ) --.24* -.17
17. I regard my abihty to find a
meaning; p 050, or
mission i 3 f e as very
peat. 4 . 8 (1.6) 5 . 5 (1.1) 5 . 9 (1.0) 5 . 9 (1.1) -.15 -.14
18. M llfe is in my hands and
Pam in control of it. 4.8(1.5) 5.2(1.7) a . Q ( l . 0 ) 6.1(1.1) -.18 -.16
19. Facing my daily tsaka is a
source of pleasure and
satisfaction. 4.3(1.5) 4.5(1.7) 5 . 4 ( . 5 ) 5.7(.Q) -.%* -.19
20. I have discovered clear-cut
go& and a satisfying
purpose. 4.6(1.3) 5 . 2 ( 1 . 2 ) 5 . 6 ( . 6 ) 5.7U.l) -.15 -.18
Groups: 1 - ~~

de ressed externals; 2 = depressed internds; 3 = nondepreaeed externals; 4 =

-
nonde ressed intern&.
&mbera displayed are Group Means (Standard Deviations).
Pearson non-grouped correlational coe5cients.
* p <.Ole N = 134.
 Purpose In Life, Depression, and Locus of Control 665

of a college population (PIL M = 109.1;SD = 13.7;SDS M = 36.4,SD = 9.2;

1-E M = 10.9,SD = 4.2). To inspect the relationship between PIL items and
depression and locus of control a two by two matrix was formed by mean splits
of Ss according to their SDS and I-E scores. Mean rather than median splits were
used to allow greater comparison with other SDS and I-E groups with identical
means (e.g., Briggs et al., 1978;Rotter, 1975).l This schema resulted in four relative
groups: Depressed externals ( N = 39), depressed internals ( N = 21);nondepressed
externals ( N = 23), and nondepressed internals ( N = 51). The unequal sample
sizes of the groups reflect the significant, moderate correlation (T = .52)between
SDS and I-E scores. Means and standard deviations for each of the 20 PIL items
for each group, item content, and ungrouped Pearson product-moment correlation
coefficients between items and SDS and I-E scores are shown in Table 1. The
table reveals a consistent increase in PIL scores from depressed to nondepressed,
and from external to internal locus of control. However, ungrouped correlation
coefficients demonstrate only seven significant but low values between PIL items
and depression, and only two similar range, significant relationships with locus
of control. Both PIL items that correlate with I-E (#4, 12) also are among these
significantly related to depression.
To examine the ability of combinations of PIL items t o predict depression
and locus of control groups, the two by two schema also was examined by step-
wise multiple discriminant analysis, where increasing combinations of PIL items
were used to predict S group membership (for each of the four groups). The results
for the most economical prediction model are presented in Table 2. The data show
that the most accurate predictions were made for the depressed external group,
TABLE 2
RESUMB
OF DISCRIMINATE ANALYSIS
CLAWFICATIONSOF DEPRESBION
AND
Locus OF CONTROL
GROUPSBY PIL ITEMS

Depressed Depressed Nondepressed Nondepreseed Group

externals intern& externals intern& N0

Depressed 29 2 3 5 39
externals 74% 5% 8% 13%
Depreseed 2 12 2 5 21
internals 9% 57% 9% 24%
Nondepressed 2 3 12 6 23
externals 9% 13% 52% 26%
Nondepressed 5 6 11 29 51
intern& 10% 12% 22% 57%
N = 134.
Figures are: # classified in group; 7 claasification in group.
Left to right, top to bottom diagond presents correctly c l d e d 8s.

where 74% of the Ss were classified correctly. While well above chance, the other
three groups ranged from 52 and 57% correct classification and resulted in an
overall hit rate of 61.19%, which is 23.14% over the chance baseline (which would
be achieved by prediction of all Ss as being in the largest sample group, nonde-
pressed internals). Nine PIL item (#2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 19) were used in
this model, which was 1% more accurate than w e of all PIL items.'
'The mean SDS scores of this group of 19.8 are nearly identical to the mean of Zung's and Biggs'
no& oup, while the ran e of scorea vanes from hu-none and mddly $0 moderately depreseed
grou s. %ean and range of f-E scorea are nearly idenbcal to those consistently found in college
pop3ations.
'A full description of the linear multiple discriminate model i s available from the author upon
request.
666 Journal of Clinical Psychology, July, 1980, IVol. 36,No. 3.

DISCUSSION
As suggested by the group means of PIL items in Table 1 where the depressed,
external locus of control Ss consistently evidenced the lowest, most discrepant
PIL item mean scores, a combination of nine of the items was able to discriminate
correctly this group about three-fourths of the time. This was in contrast to the
lowered hit rates for the depressed internals and the two nondepressed groups
and suggested a compounding effect between depression and perception of locus
of reinforcement with experienced purpose in life. Without assuming any statement
of causality or unidirectional influence between existential purposefulness and
psychological depression and external perception of reinforcement control, the
depressed external individuals are most identifiable from their existential malaise
or emptyness reflected on the PIL. Not only does this group report more depression,
less inspiritation, but also that the experience of reinforcement for being in the
world is beyond their control. However, nondepressed externals were no more
easily identifiable than the two internal groups, an indication that the relationship
between externality and purpose in life seems of greater clinical interest with
concomitant presence of depression. As Rotter (1975, pp. 64-65) points out, there
may be two kinds of externals in our culture-“passive externals,” who view
reinforcement as out of their control in any situation, and “defensive externals,”
who externalize control of reinforcement mostly in failure situations-and this
may be reflected in our differential hit rates for depressed and nondepressed ex-
ternals. Defensive externals may avoid or deny depression, or remain engaged
with the world to replace or counter failure or loss with success or new objects,
and maintain a sense of purpose by these processes. Passive, depressed externals
may withdraw from the world and be unable to do so. Thus, while the former
group may maintain some meaningful, successful interlocking with the world,
the latter group may not. But, as suggested by Rotter, both groups may reflect
the same overall, generalized expectancy for locus of control.
The two PIL items ( # 4 , 12) that were correlated significantly with both
depression and locus of control and were the first two items selected in the multiple
discriminant analysis appear to reflect the perception or experience of congruent
involvement between the individual and his environment, both in terms of the
penetrance of purpose to “personal existence” (Item 4), and that purpose “fitting
meaningfully with (my) life” (Item 12). In contrast to other items that appear
to tap possession of historically internalized qualities of having “exuberance,”
“responsibility,” and “goals,” these two items apparently reflect the crucial,
self-transcendant quality of current goals embedded in or meaningfully related
to the world. This is a concept heavily stressed by Frankl as being the corner
stone of the existentially vibrant, inspirited person.
The significant but low single correlations found between PIL items and
SDS and I-E suggest the intertwining of existential and psychological experience
discussed in the Introduction, but also indicate that the PIL does measure more
than absence of depression and internalized perceived locus of psychological re-
inforcement. Although 13 of the PIL items did not correlate with depression and
18 did not correlate with locus of control, depressed external Ss were identified
correctly about three-fourths of the time, in contrast to nondepressed externals
and internal Ss, who were more difficult to identify. A compounding effect of
depression and external locus of control with purpose in life was suggested, and
this effect appears to influence two PIL items ( # 4 and # 12) in particular.
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