Locus of control perceptions among conjugally bereaved older adults: a pilot study

While Locus of Control is typically operationalized as a single dispositional trait that generalizes across settings, it has also been conceptualized as two weakly related factors; Domain-Specific State Locus of Control and a generalized Trait Locus of Control. Malleability of these two factors was tested for recently widowed older adults in self-help support groups (n = 17) and a waiting-list control condition (n = 6). Domain-Specific State Locus of Control-Desire for Control subscale increased over the course of the three-week six-session intervention for support group participants. These group participants also showed decreased psychological distress from pre to post intervention. The change in Domain-Specific State Locus of Control-Desire for Control did not relate to this reduction in distress. As expected, Trait Locus of Control remained stable with greater Trait Internality related to less psychological symptomatology.