Primary and secondary perceived control: a comparison of adolescent students with and without learning disabilities

In this study we compared the results of both a primary and a secondary perceived control measure completed by 93 regional and metropolitan students from Years 7-9 who were assessed as having learning disabilities and 102 students from the general student population. The Mastery Scale (Pearlin, Menaghan, Lieberman, and Mullan, 1981) was used to measure primary perceived control and The Children's Internal Coping Self-efficacy Scale (Cunningham, 2002) was used to measure secondary perceived control. The students who had learning disabilities scored lower on both measures. These findings are discussed in relation to a need for interventions that give students who have learning disabilities strategies that address both primary and secondary aspects of perceived control.