Locus of control perceptions among conjugally bereaved older adults: a pilot study.
While Locus of Control is typically operationalized as a single dispositional trait that generalizes across settings, it has also been conceptualized as two weakly related factors; Domain-Specific State Locus of Control and a generalized Trait Locus of Control. Malleability of these two factors was tested for recently widowed older adults in self-help support groups (n = 17) and a waiting-list control condition (n = 6). Domain-Specific State Locus of Control-Desire for Control subscale increased over the course of the three-week six-session intervention for support group participants. These group participants also showed decreased psychological distress from pre to post intervention. The change in Domain-Specific State Locus of Control-Desire for Control did not relate to this reduction in distress. As expected, Trait Locus of Control remained stable with greater Trait Internality related to less psychological symptomatology.
McKibbin
C L
CL
Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton 76203-6587, USA.
Guarnaccia
C A
CA
Hayslip
B
B
Murdock
M E
ME
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001601:Bereavement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012944:Social Support; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017805:Widowhood