A Parental Locus of Control Scale
Author(s): Adrian Furnham
Abstract: This study set out to devise a sensitive, robust and psychometrically sound instrument that measured locus of control beliefs with respect to the development of children. A questionnaire was devised to measure three dimensions of parenting locus of control: internal (the belief that parents through example and instruction, to a large degree, dictate how their children will 'turn out') external/powerful others (the belief that societal forces and structures such as schools are the main determinants of children's development) and chance (the belief that random, luck or fate factors determine how children grow up). Two hundred adults completed a 60 item questionnaire that was factor-analyzed into a number of interpretable factors. These factors were then correlated with various demographic factors supplied by the participant: sex, age, whether or not they had children. Overall adults tended to have internal parental locus of control beliefs. Age and occupation, rather than whether they actually were parents, were strongly correlated with the domain specific locus of control beliefs.
Pages: 151-163
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