Locus of control in children of divorce

Scores on the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children (N-SLOCSC) were compared for third and fifth grade boys and girls from intact versus maritally disrupted family backgrounds. Significant main effects for each independent variable revealed that fifth graders more than third, boys more than girls, and the marital disruption more than the intact group, exhibited higher internality in their locus of control scores. These findings strongly suggest that experiencing a parental divorce in childhood has a significant influence on generalized perceptions of personal control and effectance, perceptions which may ultimately mediate both short- and long-term outcomes in children's post-divorce adjustment.