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Perceived Locus of Control in the Children of Military and Civilian Families Affected By Deployment and Divorce

Rebekah Kanefsky, University of Central FloridaFollow

Mentor

Dr. Sandra Neer

Abstract

This study was designed to explore the differences between locus of control (LOC) in children from civilian and military families and to investigate whether military deployment is associated with an external locus of control. Existing literature has focused on the negative implications of external LOC for children's mental health and achievement. However, research regarding this construct related to children of military families has not been conducted. In the present study, LOC was measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children, designed for individuals from the 3rd to the 12th grade. The 54 participants in this study ranged in age from 7 to 17 and came from either a military family with a deployed parent, a civilian family with two caregivers in the home, or a divorced/separated civilian family. After conducting a univariate one-way ANOVA on the data, it was found that children of deployed military families did not score significantly different for mean locus of control than civilian separated/divorced families, or civilian intact families. A correlation comparing age and LOC scores likewise found no significant relationship.

About the Author

Ms. Kanefsky graduated summa cum laude from the University of Central Florida with a B.S in psychology and a certificate in victim advocacy. Ms. Kanefsky is currently training at the National Institutes of Health and plans on continuing her education through graduate study. She eventually hopes to work with clients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Recommended Citation

Kanefsky, Rebekah (2016) "Perceived Locus of Control in the Children of Military and Civilian Families Affected By Deployment and Divorce," The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 8: Iss. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/urj/vol8/iss2/6

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