Locus of control moderates the effects of residential segregation on everyday functioning in Black older adults from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study

OBJECTIVE: Residential segregation has been linked to better everyday functioning levels, but faster rates of decline. There is a need to understand whether individual psychosocial factors may explain these mixed effects. Locus of control (LOC) is a psychosocial factor reflecting perceptions of control over life's outcomes that has been linked to health outcomes and may shape how individuals respond to their environments. Therefore, we examined whether LOC moderated the effects of segregation on everyday functioning. METHOD: Participants were 672 Black older adults from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study. Baseline addresses characterized tract segregation with dissimilarity and interaction indices. Baseline levels of internal and external LOC were measured with the Personality in Intellectual Aging Contexts Inventory. Everyday functioning was assessed with the Observed Tasks of Daily Living at baseline and across a 10-year follow period. RESULTS: Latent growth curve models revealed that internal (B = .607, p = .033) and external LOC (B = -.448, p = .002) significantly moderated segregation effects. Higher internal LOC strengthened the positive association between segregation and average everyday functioning levels while there were no significant effects among those with lower internal LOC. Higher external LOC nullified segregation effects, but those with lower external LOC exhibited a positive association between segregation and everyday functioning levels. LOC did not moderate segregation effects on linear or quadratic declines in everyday functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial factors influence the effects of residential segregation on everyday functioning and may be an important point of intervention as we continue to address inequitable environmental conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).