Locus of control and trust in parents: a preliminary study

Compared 50 undergraduates (7 males, 43 females) as the upper and lower third Internal and External locus of control groups, based on I-E scores, with respect to scores on separate subscales of trust in father (FT), mother (MT), and both parents (PT). While the results confirmed previous findings that internality was related positively to trust in others, the present study found significantly greater trust in father than in mother. These differential findings were interpreted as having relevance to studies of behavioral referents of locus of control as well as implications for parent-child antecedent relationships.