Psychological and environmental correlates of locus of control and posttraumatic stress symptoms: A latent profile analysis.

Early-life stress (ELS) has been linked to the development of psychopathology-related outcomes, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Locus of control (LOC) is one factor thought to be critical to the development of PTSS. The present study used latent profile analysis across two nonrepresentative samples (i.e., laboratory and online) of young adults (N = 164 and N = 665) to identify subgroups based on LOC orientation and PTSS severity and to explore early environmental correlates of individuals' membership in distinct subgroups. Across both samples, results of the latent profile analyses indicated a best fitting five-class solution. Cumulative ELS and perceived uncontrollability of ELS exposure emerged as significant predictors of subgroup membership in the Mechanical Turk sample. These findings suggest that associations between perceptions of control at the event (i.e., controllability during a stressful event) and global (i.e., LOC orientation) levels may play a role in the development of stress-related symptoms following ELS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).