Emetophobia and locus of control

Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting and can be triggered by seeing other people being sick or feelings of nausea in oneself. It can affect people's social, home and work life, can significantly affect leisure activities and may lead to women delaying becoming pregnant. A study of 149 people compared emetophobics, people with other phobias and people with no phobias. People with emetophobia were found to have a significantly higher internal locus of control than the other groups. People with a high internal locus of control are more likely to think that what happens to them in life and the state of their health are within their control than that they are affected by external factors, fate or genetics. The researchers suggested that emetophobics may have a fear of losing control and that their emetophobia is just a reflection of this alternative, underlying problem.

Davidson, Angela L., Boyle, Christopher and Lauchlan, Fraser - Scared to lose control ? General and health locus of control in females with a phobia of vomiting Journal of Clinical Psychology January 2008, 64(1), 30-39