Locus of Control and Pre-Marital High School Pregnancy

Abstract

The relationship between pre-marital pregnancy and locus of control was assessed for 165 female, junior and senior high school students from two metropolitan high schools, one middle-class white, and one lower-class black. No significant difference between the two schools in mean locus of control scores was found. Significant differences indicated that within the white middle-class school, pregnant girls tended to score external and non-pregnant girls tended to score internal. In the black lower-class school, the opposite tended to be true, i.e., pregnant girls tended toward internality, and non-pregnant girls toward externality. These seeming differences were not inconsistent and internally oriented girls in both environments were perceiving their environments accurately.