Habit control expectancy for drinking, smoking, and eating.

Habit-specific locus of control measures for drinking, smoking, and eating were compared to Rotter's general measure to evaluate the relationship between cognitive expectancy and substance use. For both smoking and eating, individuals who reported being addicted were significantly more external on the habit-specific expectancy measures. Measures of use, tolerance, and risk covaried more closely with the habit-specific scales than with the general scale. For eating behavior, the habit-specific scale and the compulsive eating measure were different only for individuals with a history of being overweight. The habit-specific expectancy measures were more closely related to indices of use and addiction than the general locus of control measure and should have greater utility for research and intervention.