Keywords
locus of control & treatment compliance for child improvement, mothers with children with developmental disabilities
Abstract
A potentially important variable that has received little attention in the literature is the locus of control a caregiver holds for child improvement, including its influence on the caregiver's treatment compliance and on actual child improvement. To evaluate the utility of the construct in a practice setting, 131 caregiver-child dyads were evaluated across one year. Children were approximately four years old at the first assessment, and all of them had been diagnosed with a developmental disability. Caregiver compliance to treatment (attendance at sessions and teacher ratings of their support and knowledge) was tracked, and measures of child development status and caregiver locus of control were administered. Statistical results indicated that caregiver locus of control was not significantly correlated with gains in the child's development over the year. Caregiver beliefs about whether the child or chance would be responsible for improvement were associated with lower compliance to treatment, whereas caregiver beliefs that child improvement was due to professional intervention were associated with enhanced involvement in treatment.
Original Publication Citation
Smith, T. B., Oliver, M. I., Boyce, G. C., & Innocenti, M. S. (2000). Effects of mothers' locus of control for child improvement in a developmentally delayed sample. The Journal Of Genetic Psychology: Research And Theory On Human Development, 161(3), 307-313. doi:10.1080/00221320009596713
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Smith, Timothy B.; Oliver, Matthew N.I.; Boyce, Glenna C.; and Innocenti, Mark S., "Effects of mothers' locus of control for child improvement in a developmentally delayed sample." (2017). Faculty Publications. 1969.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/1969
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2017-08-24
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/3923
Publisher
US: Heldref Publications; United Kingdom : Taylor & Francis
Language
English
College
David O. McKay School of Education
Department
Counseling Psychology and Special Education
Copyright Status
Copyright C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vgnt20
Copyright Use Information
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/