title: Locus of control specific to pregnancy.
abstract: A woman's control expectancies for the labor and delivery experience will affect her satisfaction with the experience. Careful assessment by the nurse will identify the woman as having I Control, P Control, or C control expectancies. Internal control expectancies are not inherently preferable: Rotter states that the " early hypothesis that locus of control would have a curvilinear relationship to adjustment has not been born out." Thus, the narrow approach that encourages the development of internal control beliefs without first assessing the woman's internal, powerful others, and chance control attitudes should be avoided. Only after the childbirth expectancies have been assessed can the nurse provide the support to encourage realistic control expectancies.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D011247:Pregnancy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011581:Psychological Tests