Loco Parentis and Locus of Control
Keyword(s):
The Children's Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control Scale was administered to two groups of 45 pregnant adolescents each in a residential maternity home. One group of 45 adolescents had experienced the removal of custody from their biological parents and had been living in foster care. The second group had become pregnant while living with their biological parents. The former group showed a significantly higher mean score on the locus of control scale which reflected a more external locus-of-control orientation. The results are discussed in the light of other studies on locus of control and parental loss.