115 expectant married couples from an HMO population were recruited during a routine 5-mo. prenatal visit. Husbands and wives independently completed a background questionnaire and the Rotter Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control Scale. Differences in I-E scale scores between husbands and wives were significant. I-E scores of expectant wives indicated greater external locus of control than those of expectant husbands. This finding was derived from a repeated-measures multivariate analysis of covariance with socioeconomic status as the covariate and within-couple scores as the repeated-measure. The relationship between pregnancy and locus of control and the need for research are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BowlbyJ. (1969) Attachment. New YorkBasic Boob.
2.
BelskyJ.LangL.HustonT. (1986) Sex typing and division of labor as determinants of marital change across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 517–522.
3.
DeutschH. (1944–1945) The psychology of women. Vol. 1–2. New York: Grune & Stratton.
4.
FawcettJ.Buss-HoltzV.HassM.LeventhalM.RubinM. (1986) Spouses' body image changes during and after pregnancy: a replication and extension. Nursing Research, 35, 220–223.
5.
FawcettJ.YorkR. (1986) Spouses' physical and psychological symptoms during pregnancy and the postpartum. Nursing Research, 35, 144–148.
6.
FranklinR. D. (1963) Youth's expectancies about internal versus external control of reinforcement related to N variables. Dissertation Abstracts, 24, 1684.
7.
GutmannD. L. (1985) The parental imperative revisited: towards a developmental psychology of adulthood and later life. Contributions to Human Development, 14, 31–60.
8.
HerschP. D.ScheibeK. E. (1967) Reliability and validity of internal-external control as a personality dimension. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 31, 609–613.
9.
HobfollS.NadlerA.LeibermanJ. (1986) Satisfaction with social support during crisis: intimacy and self-esteem as critical determinants. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 296–304.
10.
LadwigG. W. (1963) Personal, situational and social determinants of preference for delayed reinforcement. Dissertation Abstracts, 24, 4799.
MichaelsG.SchneiderN.YusimV.WuJ.GoodmanG.EichmannM. A. (1987) [Ultrasound project.] Chicago, IL: Northwestern University Medical School.
13.
MolfeseV. J.BrickerM. C.ManionL.YappleK.BeadnellB. (1987) Stress in pregnancy: the influence of psychological and social mediators in perinatal experiences. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 6, 33–42.
14.
NilssonA. (1970) Perinatal emotional adjustment: a prospective investigation of 165 women: I. A general account of background variables, attitudes toward childbirth and an appreciation of psychiatric morbidity. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavian, 45, 1–61 (Supplement)
15.
NilssonA.AlmgrenP. E. (1970) Perinatal emotional adjustment: a prospective investigation of 165 women: II. The influence of background factors, parental relationship and personality characteristics. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 45, 65–141 (Supplement)
16.
RotterJ. B. (1966) Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80, 1–28.
17.
WinnicottD. W. (1956) Primary maternal preoccupation. In WinnicottD. W. (Eds), Through paediatrics to psycho-analysis. New York: Basic Books. Pp. 300–305.
