How Control Beliefs Shape Poverty Attributionshttps://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/HZKO71Kose, SevdaHarvard Dataverse2026-03-162026-03-16T22:44:40ZThis study examines the relationship between locus of control and poverty attributions from an income perspective, drawing upon Locus of Control Theory, Attribution Theory, and System Justification Theory. Hypotheses were developed and tested based on these theoretical frameworks. The findings reveal a significant relationship between an external locus of control and external attributions for poverty, indicating that individuals who perceive life outcomes as shaped by uncontrollable external forces are more likely to explain poverty through structural, systemic, or fatalistic causes. Income was found to play a moderating role in this relationship, with both high- and low-income individuals attributing poverty to external factors. In the Turkish context, factors such as economic instability, inflation, income injustice, unemployment, inequality in access to education and healthcare, and nepotism strengthen the tendency to explain poverty through structural causes rather than individual causes. These findings suggest that poverty is increasingly interpreted as a structural and systemic issue within the contemporary economic context of Turkey.Social Sciences2026-03-16Kose, Sevda2026-03-16CC0 1.0