The Parental Locus of Control Scale: Development and Validation

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to construct an instrument for the assessment of parental locus of control. In Study 1, the scale was constructed and administered to I47parents. Data analyses yielded a five-factor solution with acceptable indices of reliability. The purpose of Study 2 was to establish the construct and discriminant validity of the Parental Locus of Control (PLOC) Scale. The PLOC and seven additional scales assessing related personality constructs were administered to two groups of parents. Group A consisted of 60parents who reported no difficulties in the parenting role; Group B consisted of 45parents who had requested professional services for parenting problems or whose children had been identified as having behavioral/emotional difficulties. Data analyses revealed significant correlations for the majority of the predicted relationships, thereby demonstrating the construct validity of the PLOC. Group B parents scored significantly more external in locus of control than Group A parents, and three of the PLOC subscales were found to significantly differ beetween groups, thereby offering support for the discriminant validity of the PLOC.