Unwed pregnant women and locus of control : a descriptive study
by Marilee Daughn Smith
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF NURSING
Montana State University
© Copyright by Marilee Daughn Smith (1981)
Abstract:
This study is concerned with describing unwed pregnant women by their locus of control. Locus of
control is the extent to which persons perceive contingency relationships between their actions and
their outcomes. Locus of control is considered a continuum concept with internal control on one side
and external control on the other. An internal locus of control relates to the belief that the person is
directly responsible for behavior and its consequences. An external locus of control relates to the belief
that behavior and its consequences are regulated by fate, luck, chance, powerful others or other exterior
influences. Twenty unwed pregnant women completed Rotter's Internal-external Locus of Control
Scale during their third trimester of pregnancy, 11 of the 20 completed the Rotter Scale again in their
early postpartum period. Eight demographic questions relating to possible accumulative and episodic
antecedents of locus of control were completed by the participants during their third trimester of
pregnancy. Analysis of the data revealed the unwed pregnant women in this study were internal as a
group with a mean locus of control score of 9. The group's mean score remained stable between the two
periods of measurement. The increasing numbers of unwed pregnant women and their related health
problems demonstrate the need for health care providers to gain insight into this important dimension
of the unwed pregnant woman's personality in order to better meet her needs. STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO COPY
In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f
t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an advanced de gre e a t Montana S t a t e
U n i v e r s i t y , I a g re e t h a t th e L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y
available for inspection.
I f u r t h e r a g re e t h a t p e r m is s i o n
f o r e x t e n s i v e copying o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r y purp os es
may be g r a n t e d by my major p r o f e s s o r , o r , in h i s a b s e n c e , by
the D irector of L ib ra r ie s .
I t i s u n d e r s to o d t h a t any copying
o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l n o t be
allowed w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m is s i o n .
Signature
Date_____
UNWED PREGNANT WOMEN AND LOCUS OF CONTROL:
A D ESC R IPTIV E STUDY
BY
S
MARILEE .d a u g h n .. s m i t h
A t h e s i s s u b m itte d in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t
o f t h e r e q u ir e m e n ts f o r t h e d e g r e e
of
MASTER OF NURSING
Z
A pproved:
H e a d , Maj o r ^ D e p a r t m e n t
G r a d u a te D ean
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITYB o z em a n , M ont a n a
June,
1981
TABLE OF CONTENTS
• VITA ............................................................................................................................ i i
LIST OF TABLES.................................
vi
LIST OF FIGURES..............................................................
vii
ABSTRACT............................................ ' .................................. -............................... vi i i
CHAPTER
I.
INTRODUCTION.............................. ......................................................
I
S ta te m e n t of t h e Pr oblem...............................................'• • • I
II.
St a te m e n t of th e Purpose ....................
4
D e f i n i t i o n o f Terms..................................................
4
Scope of t h e Study • • ............................................
5
REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK...............7
Unwed P r e g n a n t Women........................................... .................7
Unwed Pr egn an t Women - An O v e r v i e w . . . . .................7
The Unwed Pr eg na nt A d o l e s c e n t .................................. 11
The O ld e r Unwed P r e g n a n t Woman................................ 21
Summary..................; , . . , ..........., ;
,,
........... 23
I n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l Locus o f C o n t r o l . ............................23
I n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l Locus o f Control C o n c e p t . . . 24
A n t e c e d e n t s ......... ................................
.26
R e l a te d C o n ce p ts ..........................................
29
Summary.....................
30
iv
O p e r a t i o n a l Framework........................................................31
Accumulative V a r i a b l e s ...............................................31
Ep i so d ic V a r i a b l e s ........................................................ 33
Summary................................... ' .................................... .... .34
III.
METHODOLOGY............................................ : .....................................36
Sample and S e t t i n g ............................................................. .36
Data C o l l e c t i o n I n s t r u m e n t . ........................................... 37
Demographic V a r i a b l e s ...............................................; ------ 38
Data C o l l e c t i o n P r o c e d u r e ..............................
39
A n a l y s i s o f Data .................................................................. .40
IV.
PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS............ . . . 4 2
A nt e c e d e n t Demographic V a r i a b l e s ........... * . . . . . . .-.42
I
Locus Of C o n t r o l ........... ............................................... ; . . . 4 3
Locus Qf Control In The Th ir d T r i m e s t e r ------ .43
Locus Of Control In The Postpartum P e r i o d . ; .44
Locus Of Control And An tecedent Demographic
V a r i a b l e s ........... ............... ............. . . , -------. . , . 4 4 ,
Comparison Of Those Completing The Study
Versus Those Not Completing The Study.... . . . . 4 6
Sum m ary
CONCLUSION.....................................................................
46
,50
Limit a t i o n s Of The Sttidy ........ ..........................' • ' • • • ? , 53
.
V.
......... .................................. .......... • ..............
I m p l i c a t i o n s For Nursing ...............................................^54
Recommendations For F u r t h e r Study....................
56
V
REFERENCES CITED
........... ......................................................................... 58
APPENDICES........................ .................................................................................... 63
A.
R o t t e r 1.s I n t e r n a l - E x t e r n a l Locus Of Control Scale
B.
Demographic Q u e s t i o n n a i r e
C.
Purpose and Consent Form
D .'
R o t t e r I n t e r n a l - E x t e r n a l Locus Of Control Score
Sheet
vi
LIST OF TABLES
PAGE
TABLE
1.
2.
3.
Locus o f Control Scores and A nte ce de nt Demographic
Variables
47
T h i r d T r i m e s t e r I- E Locus o f Control Scores and
Age
48
Sc ore s o f P a r t i c i p a n t s Completing, t h e Study and
P a r t i c i p a n t s n o t Completing t h e Study
49
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
PAGE
FIGURE
I.
Paradigm: The Unwed Pr eg na nt Woman and Locus
of Co n t r o l . . . .
35
Abstract
This s t u d y i s concerned with d e s c r i b i n g unwed p r e g n a n t women by
t h e i r lo c u s o f c o n t r o l . Locus o f c o n t r o l i s t h e . e x t e n t t o which
pe rs on s p e r c e i v e co nt in g e n cy r e l a t i o n s h i p s between t h e i r a c t i o n s
and t h e i r outcomes. Locus o f c o n t r o l i s c o n s i d e r e d a continuum
co n ce p t with i n t e r n a l c o n t r o l on one s i d e and e x t e r n a l c o n t r o l on
t h e o t h e r . An i n t e r n a l lo c u s o f c o n t r o l r e l a t e s t o t h e b e l i e f
t h a t t h e perso n i s d i r e c t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r b e h a v i o r and i t s con­
s e q u e n c e s . An e x t e r n a l lo c u s o f c o n t r o l r e l a t e s to t h e b e l i e f
t h a t b e h a v i o r and i t s consequences a r e r e g u l a t e d by f a t e , l u c k ,
c h a n c e , powerful o t h e r s or o t h e r e x t e r i o r - i n f l u e n c e s . Twenty
unwed p r e g n a n t women completed R o t t e r ' s I n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l Locus
o f Control S c a l e d u ri n g t h e i r t h i r d t r i m e s t e r of pregnan cy, 11
o f t h e 20 completed t h e R o t t e r S c a l e a g a i n in t h e i r e a r l y p o s t ­
partum p e r i o d . Eig ht demographic q u e s t i o n s r e l a t i n g t o p o s s i b l e
a c c u m u l a t i v e and e p i s o d i c a n t e c e d e n t s o f lo c u s o f c o n t r o l were
completed by t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s d urin g t h e i r t h i r d t r i m e s t e r of
pregnan cy. A n a ly si s o f t h e d a ta r e v e a l e d t h e unwed p re gna nt
women in t h i s st udy were i n t e r n a l as a group with a mean locus
o f c o n t r o l s c o r e o f 9. The g r o u p ' s mean s c o r e remained s t a b l e
between t h e two p e r i o d s o f measurement. The i n c r e a s i n g numbers
of unwed p r e g n a n t "women ""and t h e i r r e l a t e d t e a l t h problems" de- —
m o n s t r a t e t h e need f o r h e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r s t o gain i n s i g h t
i n t o t h i s im p o r ta n t dimension o f t h e unwed pre g n a n t woman's
p e r s o n a l i t y in o r d e r to b e t t e r meet h e r needs.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
St a te m e nt of th e Problem
The major concern o f t h i s s tu d y i s t o d e s c r i b e t h e unwed
pr e g n a n t woman in terms o f her lo c u s o f c o n t r o l .
The unwed
pre gna nt woman has been d e s c r i b e d in p re v i o u s r e s e a r c h acc ord ing
t o h e r p h y s i o l o g i c a l , p s y c h o l o g i c a l , and s o c i o l o g i c a l needs
(American College o f O b s t e t r i c i a n s and G y n e c o l o g i s t s , 1980;
Mercer, 1980), t h e a u t h o r has found no r e s e a r c h d e s c r i b i n g her
lo c u s o f c o n t r o l .
B e l i e f s ab out t h e lo c u s or o r i g i n o f c o n tr o l f o r b e h a v i o r
and i t s consequences—r e l a t e - t o - t h e concept-k-nown-as—i n t e r n a l -------e x t e r n a l lo cu s of c o n t r o l , o r t h e d e g re e t o which i n d i v i d u a l s
p e r c e i v e t h e o r i g i n o f c o n t r o l t o be w i t h i n or o u t s i d e them­
selves.
Locus of c o n t r o l i s th e e x t e n t t o which pe rs ons p e r ­
c e i v e con tin gen cy r e l a t i o n s h i p s between t h e i r a c t i o n s and
t h e i r outcomes.
Locus o f b o n tr o l o r i e n t a t i o n i s c o n s i d e r e d a
continuum co nce pt w it h i n t e r n a l o r i h n e f c o n t r o l on one e nd,
and e x t e r n a l o r o u t e r Control on t h e o p p o s i t e end.
In te rn a lity
o r an i n t e r n a l lo cu s o f c o n t r o l r e l a t e s t o t h e b e l i e f t h a t the
person i s d i r e c t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i r own b e ha vio r and i t s
c o n se q u e n c e s .
E x t e r n a l i t y o r an e x t e r n a l locus o f c o n t r o l
2
r e l a t e s t o t h e b e l i e f t h a t b e h a v i o r and i t s consequences a r e
r e g u l a t e d by f a t e , l u c k , c h a n g e , . p o w e r f u l o t h e r s , o r o t h e r
e x t e r i o r i n f l u e n c e s ( R o t t e r , 1966).
Research on t h e i n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l lo cu s of c o n t r o l by R o t t e r
(1966) has shown a d i r e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e de gre e t o which
c l i e n t s see th em sel ve s as t h e o r i g i n o f c o n t r o l and r a t e d f a v o r a b l e
outcomes.
R e s u l t s i n d i c a t e p e op le a r e handicapped by an e x te r n a l
lo cu s o f c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n .
I n d i v i d u a l s with an i n t e r n a l . l o c u s
of c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n b e l i e v e t h e y can c o n t r o l t h e i r own d e s t i n y
and a r e l i k e l y t o be more a l e r t to t h o s e a s p e c t s o f t h e environment
which p r o v i d e s u s e f u l i n f o r m a t i o n f o r f u t u r e be h a v io r .
These
i n d i v i d u a l s p l a c e g r e a t e r v a l u e on s k i l l s and achievement and a r e
g e n e r a l l y more concerned w it h a b i l i t i e s and f a i l u r e s .
In a d d i t i o n
t h e s e i n d i v i d u a l s w i l l t a k e s t e p s t o improve environmental c o n d i t i o n s
and te n d t o be r e s i s t i v e t o s u b t l e a t t e m p t s o f i n f l u e n c e ( R o t t e r ,
1966, p. 25).
Unwed p r e g n a n t womeh a p p ea r to a l l o w t h i n g s to happen to them­
s e l v e s and de m o n st ra t e l i t t l e c o n t r o l o ve r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e i r
lives.
The r e s e a r c h e r has worked w i t h unwed pregna nt women f o r over
twelve y e a r s and has been concerned w i t h many unwed women's a p p ar en t
l a c k of long and s h o r t term g o a l s .
T h e i r a tt e n d a n c e p a t t e r n s t o p r e ­
n a t a l c l a s s e s and medical ap poin tm en ts te n d to be i n c o n s i s t e n t ;
3
th e y f r e q u e n t l y do n o t keep p r e n a t a l appointments and a r e o f t e n
late.
They te nd t o have d i f f i c u l t y pla nnin g f o r employment, con­
t i n u e d e d u c a ti o n or c h i l d c a r e a f t e r d e l i v e r y .
Unwed p re gna nt women have been o f t e n d e s c r i b e d by f e l l o w
h e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r s as. n o n - g o a l - d i r e c t e d , l a c k i n g s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e ,
having a low s e l f esteem and n o t d e m onst ra ti ng personal c o n t r o l
in t h e i r d e c i s i o n s o r d e m o n s t r a t in g concern or awareness of the
outcomes of t h e i r d e c i s i o n s .
The l i b e r a l i z a t i o n o f h e a l t h c a r e programs and p o l i c i e s
e s s e n t i a l l y a llo w s a s e x u a l l y a c t i v e unwed woman to p r e v e n t
pregnancy, thu s g i v i n g h e r t h e power t o make d e c i s i o n s r e g a r d i n g
her reproductive f u tu r e .
To t h e bewilderment o f many h e a l t h
w o rk e rs , t h e unwed b i r t h r a t e s have c o n ti n u e d to i n c r e a s e .
N a t i o n a l l y in 1978, 26 .2 b i r t h s p e r IOQQ women were t o unmarried ■
women (Health United S t a t e s , 1980).
In 1979, a p p ro x im a te ly
one m i l l i o n or 10% o f a l l te e n a g e women became p r e g n a n t (American
Co llege o f O b s t e t r i c i a n s and G y n e c o l o g i s t s , 1980).
These s t a t i s ­
t i c s c h a l l e n g e t h e e a r l i e r b e l i e f s a bout unwed b i r t h s t h a t a ro s e
from s t u d i e s b e f o r e c o n t r a c e p t i v e s e r v i c e s were l i b e r a l i z e d , i n d i ­
c a t i n g t h a t most o f t h e g i r l s had not wanted to become pre gn an t
and t h a t th e mere a v a i l a b i l i t y o f a b o r t i o n and c o n t r a c e p t i o n
would r e v e r s e t h e r a t e s o f unwed b i r t h s .
I f h e a l t h c a r e workers
a r e to have a d e s i r e d impact on unwed b i r t h r a t e s . w e must have
4
a b e t t e r und e rs ta n d in g o f t h e t r a i t s o f unwed mothers and why
pregnancy occurs in o r d e r t o b e t t e r meet t h e i r needs and help them
e s t a b l i s h long terms g o a l s .
Statement Of The Purpose
• The purpose of t h i s stu dy i s t o d e s c r i b e t h e unwed pregnant
woman in terms o f her loc us of c o n tr o l o r i e n t a t i o n a t two s t a g e s
in her pregnancy, t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r and t h e e a r l y postpartum
period.
This w il l pro vid e h e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r s p r e l i m i n a r y i n ­
s i g h t i n t o t h i s impo rtan t dimension o f t h e unwed pregnant woman's
p e r s o n a l i t y t o b e t t e r meet her needs.
D e f i n i t i o n Of Terms
Locus o f c o n t r o l .
The terms used in t h i s stu dy r e l a t i n g to
lo cu s o f co n tr o l have been d e fi n e d as fo ll ow s from R o t t e r ' s work
(1966).
Locus of c o n t r o l i s t h e e x t e n t t o which pe rs ons p e rc e iv e
con tin gen cy r e l a t i o n s h i p s between t h e i r a c t i o n s and t h e i r o u t ­
comes; in o t h e r words, t h e degree t o which an i n d i v i d u a l p e rc e iv e s
t h e o r i g i n o f co n tr o l t o be w i t h i n o r o u t s i d e h e r s e l f .
Locus o f
co n tr o l i s c o n si d e re d a continuum with i n t e r n a l or i n n e r co ntro l
on one end and e x t e r n a l or o u t e r c o n t r o l on t h e o p p o s i t e end.
Internali t y .
R e l a te s to t h e b e l i e f t h a t t h e person is
d i r e c t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r be hav io r and i t s consequences and can
have e f f e c t and impact on t h e p e r s o n ' s environment.
5
Externali t y .
R e l a t e s to t h e b e l i e f t h a t b e h a v i o r and i t s
consequences a r e r e g u l a t e d by f a t e , l u c k , c han ce , powerful o t h e r s
or other e x t e r i o r in flu en c es.
Unwed' p r e g n a n t Woman.
A woman who i s not m a rr ie d both a t th e
time o f c o n c e p t i o n and a t t h e time o f d e l i v e r y .
Adole s c e n t .
Lamaze.
A pe rs on between t h e age o f 13 and 19, i n c l u s i v e l y ,
A method by which an e x p e c t a n t mother i s p r e p a r e d f o r
c h i l d b i r t h by p s y c h o l o g i c a l and phys ic a l c o n d i t i o n i n g , u s i n g f o u r
basic to o ls :
e d u c a t i o n , e x e r c i s e s f o r ph y s ic a l c o n d i t i o n i n g and
r e l a x a t i o n , b r e a t h i n g te c h n i q u e s and c d a c h in g .
Also r e f e r r e d to
as t h e p s y c h o p r o p h y l a c t i c methods of c h i l d b i r t h .
Two s t a g e s in t h e c o u r s e of p re g n a n cy .
The two s t a g e s in
which - t h e I oc us-o f- c o n t r o l —was -measwed-;—the-t-h4rd—t r i m e s t e r —-of-.—pregnancy and t h e e a r l y postpartum p e r i o d o f t h r e e t o f i v e days
a f t e r t h e b i r t h o f t h e baby. .
' Scope' Of The Study
C hap te r I I p r e s e n t s a conceptual framework based on a review
o f l i t e r a t u r e c o n c e r n i n g both th e lo cu s o f c o n t r o l and t h e c u r r e n t
r e s e a r c h d e s c r i b i n g t h e unwed p re gna nt woman.
C hap te r I I I d e s c r i b e s
t h e method o f r e s e a r c h i n c l u d i n g d e s c r i p t i o n s of t h e sample and
s e t t i n g , t h e i n s t r u m e n t u s e d , data c o l l e c t i o n and d a t a a n a l y s i s .
Chapter IV p r e s e n t s and d i s c u s s e s t h e f i n d i n g s of t h e s t u d y and
C hap te r V g i v e s a summary o f th e s tu dy i n c l u d i n g i m p l i c a t i o n s .
6
l i m i t a t i o n s and s u g g e s t i o n s f o r f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h
CHAPTER LI
REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .
This c h a p t e r i n c l u d e s t h e review of l i t e r a t u r e from which th e
c on cep tua l framework f o r t h i s s t u d y was devel ope d.
A discussion
of l i t e r a t u r e p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e unwed p r e g n a n t woman and t h e locus
o f c o n t r o l i s p r e s e n t e d foll ow ed by a paradigmed d e s c r i p t i o n of
t h e co nc ep tu al framework used in t h i s s t u d y .
■
' ' Unwed P r e g n a n t Women
This s e c t i o n p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e d e s c r i p t i v e r e s e a r c h of Unwed
pr e g n a n t women w i l l f i r s t p r e s e n t g e n e r a l i n fo r m a t io n re g a r d in g
unwed pregnancy; second, d i s c u s s t h e a d o l e s c e n t pre g n a n t woman
from t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l , psy ch o lo g i ca l. , s o c i a l and p a r e n t i n g r i s k s
and t h i r d , p r e s e n t what l i t t l e i s s p e c i f i c a l l y known a bout t h e ■
o l d e r unwed p re gna nt woman.
/
: ■, '
Unwed' P r eg na nt Women - An Overview
Unwed b i r t h s p r e s e n t a s e r i o u s h e a l t h and s o c i o l o g i c a l
problem.
In 1975, i n t h e U . S . , o u t o f y/edlock b i r t h s numbered
447,900 o r 14% of t h e t o t a l b i r t h s (Alan Guttmacher I n s t i t u t e ,
1976).
In 1979 in Montana t h e unwed b i r t h r a t e was 1-1,3% and in
Yellowstone County, where t h i s s tu d y was completed, t h e r a t e was
10.7% of t o t a l l i v e b i r t h s (Montana V i t a l S t a t i s t i c s , 1979).
8
Suggested C o n t r i b u t i n g F a c to r s
Research d a t a s u g g e s t s many f a c t o r s t h a t c o n t r i b u t e both
to e a r l y pregnancy and unwed pregnancy.
E a rli e r physiological
m a t u r a t i o n f o ll o w e d by e a r l i e r sexual a c t i v i t y , t h e environment
of a broken home or a lower socioeconomic c l a s s , a c u l t u r a l
norm of m a r r i a g e a t an e a r l i e r ag e, o r th e e x p e r i e n c i n g of a
g r e a t number o f s t r e s s o r s w i t h i n a s h o r t time a l l seem con­
t r i b u t o r y (American C olle ge of. O b s t e t r i c i a n s and G y n e c o l o g i s t s ,
1980).
The American Co llege o f O b s t e t r i c i a n s and Gyn eco log is ts
(1980) i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of r e s e a r c h f i n d i n g s about unwed c o i t a l
be h a v io r s u g g e s t s t h a t s e x u a l l y a c t i v e unwed females may be
d e s c r i b e d on t h e b a s i s o f s e v e r a l sh ared t r a i t s and pla ced in
s e v e r a l gro ups .
The f i r s t group i s comprised of young women
who te nd t o be de p e n d e n t, p a s s i v e , low in s e l f - e s t e e m , communi­
c a t e p oorl y w i t h p a r e n ts ' , and l a c k su cce ss in school and goals
fo r f u r th e r education.
They may engage in i n t e r c o u r s e because
th e y a r e l o n e l y and la c k t h e s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e t o say "no".
The second group a r e s e x u a l l y a c t i v e , a p p a r e n t l y because they
are r e b e llin g a g a in s t t r a d i t i o n a l values.
Their parents
might be o v e r l y domineering or n o n t r a d i t i o n a l i s t s the m s el ve s . .
•Women in t h i s group tend to t a k e r i s k s , they may be heavy
u s e r s of drugs and a l c o h o l .
Often t h e i r r e b e l l i o u s b e h a v i o r ,
i s a r e a c t i o n a g a i n s t th e f e a r o f being r e j e c t e d by p a r e n t s
9
and p e e r s .
The t h i r d group o f women s u f f e r d e p r i v a t i o n and
i n d i g n i t i e s imposed by ra c ism o r p ove rt y and o f t e n l i v e in
■ communities where f a t a l i s t i c , d e s p a i r i n g a t t i t u d e s a r e wide
spread.
E a rly i n t e r c o u r s e may be a r e s u l t of t h e s t r e s s such
an environment imposes on f a m i l i e s and peer group p r e s s u r e f o r
sexual involvement may be s t r o n g .
The sexual b e h a v i o r of
t h i s group may be based on .va lue s t h a t a r i s e from t h e s o c i a l
and economic c o n d i t i o n s in which an a d o l e s c e n t m a tu r e s . The
f o u r t h group o f women have adop ted a contemporary l i f e s t y l e
in which cas ua l i n t e r c o u r s e o r s i n g l e i n t e r c o u r s e i s
a c c e p t a b l e (American Co lle ge of O b s t e t r i c i a n s and G y n e c o l o g i s t s ,
1980).
' ' The P e r s o n a l ' C r i s e s ' o f Unwed' Pregnancy
An unwed p r e g n a n t woman f a c e s many c r i s e s both w hil e she
i s pre g n a n t and a f t e r t h e d e l i v e r y .
Mercer (1980) i d e n t i f i e s
seven main c r i s e s fa c ed by t h e s e women.
Ail o f t h e s e c r i s e s
i n v o lv e t h e unwed p r e g n a n t woman and extend i n t o e i t h e r the
s i n g l e parenthood s t a t e or t h e l e n g t h y emotional p o s t d e l i v e r y p e r io d o f a d j u s t m e n t f o r t h o s e who r e l i n q u i s h .
Fi rst,"
whatever t h e c aus e o f an Unwed pregnancy, an i n i t i a l fami ly
c r i s i s develops w it h t h e unwed woman's f a m i l y , w i t h th e
. s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r s in h e r l i f e and w i t h i n h e r s e l f ..
The c r i s i s
can v a ry from minor to overwhelming and g e n e r a l l y be gin s with
10
t h e acknowledgement o f t h e pregnancy and extends well i n t o t h e p o s t del I very p e r i o d o f p a r e n t i n g o r r e l i n q u i s h i n g .
Se co ndl y, t h e r e i s
a r e d e f i n i t i o n o f r o l e s and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s w i t h i n t h e unwed woman's
life.
This i s e s p e c i a l l y complex f o r t h e woman l i v i n g a t home.
T h i r d , t h e r e i s a growth and developmental c r i s i s both i n t h e l i f e o f
t h e pr e g n a n t a d o l e s c e n t and in t h e l i f e of t h e young a d u l t unwed
pregnant woman.
F o u r t h , c h i l d r e a r i n g d e c i s i o n s a r e a ma jor concern
f o r the unwed p r e g n a n t woman.
baby.
She must d e ci de how t o c a r e f o r th e
Her o p t i o n s a r e g e n e r a l l y k e e p i n g , r e l i n q u i s h i n g , o r pla c i n g
in a f o s t e r home, o r w it h extended f a m i l y .
cu lt ram ifications.
All a s p e c t s o f f e r d i f f i ­
F i f t h , temporary o r ch ro n ic f i n a n c i a l i n ­
s e c u r i t y i s a problem s h a r e d by many unwed pregna nt women.
a s s i s t a n c e funds a r e i n s u f f i c i e n t .
Publi c
In a d e q u a te e d u c a t i o n o r s k i l l s
may make i t v e r y d i f f i c u l t t o f i n d w e l l - p a y i n g , meaningful j o b s .
Unwed p a r e n t s may be d i s c r i m i n a t e d a g a i n s t in employment
possibilities;
S i x t h , ah unwed p r e g n a n t woman o f t e n f e e l s
lo n e l y and s o c i a l l y i s o l a t e d .
She does not seem t o f i t w it h
married f r i e n d s o r w it h s i n g l e c h i l d l e s s f r i e n d s .
extends i n t o t h e p o s t - d e l i v e r y p e r i o d .
she f e e l s t h e i s o l a t i o n a l s o .
This
I f she r e l i n q u i s h e s
She has ex per ie nc e d a c r i s i s
and a g r i e f t h a t h e r f a m il y and p e e r s ca n n o t t o t a l l y u n d e r ­
stand.
S e v e n th , she te n d s t o be s t e r e o t y p e d and f e e l t h e
.1 1
. .
. s o c i a l stigma o f being an unwed p a r e n t .
I ■
Even w it h t h e
.
i n c r e a s i n g numbers of unwed m o t h e r s , t h e r e c o n t i n u e s t o be
a s t e r e o t y p i n g and stigma a t t a c h e d . ■
Th e ' Unwed' P r e g n a n t ' Adole s c e n t
P h y s i o l o g i c a l Risks'
Research r e p o r t s a r e v a r i a b l e and a r e not always in
agreement c o n c e r n i n g p h y s i o l o g i c a l c o m p l i c a t i o n s o f teenag e
pregnancy.
The l a c k o f socioeconomic r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s of
t h e p o p u l a t i o n and t h e la c k of c o n s i s t e n c y in t h e ages chosen
f o r comparison o f younger and o l d e r women p ro b a b ly acc oun t to
some e x t e n t f o r t h e c o n f l i c t i n g d a t a .
However, upon looking
c a r e f u l l y a t v a r i o u s r e p o r t s , some a p p a r e n t r i s k s due to
p h y s i o l o g i c a l im m a tu ri ty emerge.
The young g i r l i s p h y s i o l o g i c a l l y , a n a t o m i c a l l y , and
im mu nologicalIy d i f f e r e n t from t h e mature woman; t h e
young er.th e g i r l , the g re a te r the d i f f e r e n c e s .
For example,
u r i n a r y t r a c t i n f e c t i o n s in a young g i r l may m a n i f e s t as
s y s te m ic c o m p l a i n t s , toxemia o r a c i d base d i s t u r b a n c e s
(M ercer, 1980).
P h y s i o l o g i c a l changes of a d o le s c e n c e c o r r e l a t e more
c l o s e l y w it h menarche than with t h e i n d i v i d u a l c h r o n o l o g i c a l
age.
Mothers below t h e age of .15 d e l i v e r " 2.2 t i m e s t h e
number o f p re m a tu re i n f a n t s compared t g mothers in t h e 20
12
to 24 y e a r . o l d r a ng e ; whereas mothers ages 15 t o 17 d e l i v e r
1 . 5 tim e s more premature i n f a n t s and mothers 18 t o 19 d e l i v e r ■
1.3 tim e s more premature i n f a n t s ( Donnely, 1977, p. 185).
Two p o s t u l a t i o n s a r e made about t h e e t i o l o g y o f t h e h ig h e r
i n c i d e n c e o f I ower-birth-nweight i n f a n t s among t h e younger
women.
I t has been sug ges te d t h a t an inc omp lete development
of t h e myometrium may c o n t r i b u t e t o premature d e l i v e r y ,
( Donnely, 1977) .
The u t e r u s 'm a y be s t r u c t u r a l l y o r f u n c t i o n a l l y -
l e s s p r o f i c i e n t s i n c e i t has had fewer c y c l e s o f expo sur e to
o v a r i a n hormones.
I f th e u t e r i n e v a s c u l a t u r e i s l e s s well
developed a t t h e I ower g yn eco lo gic al a g e , t h e a b i l i t y to
accommodate t h e i n c r e a s e d u t e r i n e blood flow d u r in g pregnancy
could be a f f e c t e d ( Z l a t n i k , 1977).
Sec ondly , low b i r t h weight
may be due t o i n a d e q u a te n u t r i t i o n .
The t e e n a g e r i s growing
a t a rapid r a t e .
I f food i n t a k e does not meet t h e woman's
and t h e i n f a n t ' s growth n e e d s , e i t h e r i n t r a u t e r i n e growth
r e t a r d a t i o n o r premature l a b o r co uld r e s u l t (M ercer, 1980).
Although peak s k e l e t a l growth occurs beforfe menarche,
some i n d i v i d u a l s grow c o n s i d e r a b l y t a l l e r a f t e r menarche.
S t u d i e s s u g g e s t t h a t growth o f t h e p e l v i s i s not complete
by age 16.
Thus, t h e r e seems to be a h ig h e r i n c i d e n c e o f
c o n t r a c t e d pel v i s e s ' i n p r e g n a n t t e e n a g e r s 16 and under with
s u b se q u e n t c e s a r e a n s e c t i o n b i r t h s .
There i s a l s o t h e
.13
p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t high e s t r o g e n l e v e l s o f pregnancy may l i m i t
long bone growth (Bochner, 1962)>
Anemia i s a p e r s i s t e n t and w id e ly d i s t r i b u t e d problem
among p r e g n a n t t e e n a g e r s .
The high r a t e o f anemia may be i n f l u e n c e d
by g e n e r a l poor e a t i n g h a b i t s o f many t e e n a g e r s .
When pregnancy i s
imposed on ah a l r e a d y p o o r ly no uris hed a d o l e s c e n t she has a low
n u t r i t i o n a l r e s e r v e f o r h e r own growth and development.
P arti­
c u l a r l y r a p i d growth oc cur s a t t h r e e p e r i o d s in l i f e ; duri ng
f e t a l growth in u t e r o and between 8 t o 10 and 14 t o 16 y e a r s of
age.
The need f o r i r o n i s g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e d d urin g t h e s e
periods.
Thus, t h e young p r e g n a n t a d o l e s c e n t i s p la c e d in
double j e o p a r d y f o r i r o n d e f i c i e n c y anemia (Mercer, 1980).
The t e e n a g e r ' s c e r v i x and g e n i t a l i a may be more v u l n e r a b l e
to la c e ra tio n .
S t u d i e s have s ug ges te d t h u s f a r t h a t t h e immature
g i r l i s more v u l n e r a b l e t o c e r v i c a l l a c e r a t i o n , presumeably
because i t i s more t i g h t l y c l o s e d , small and h y p o p l a s t i c than
o l d e r c e r v i x i s (Mercer, 1980).
Adolescence and a f i r s t preghahtiy have been i d e n t i f i e d
as twp p e r i o d when t h e r e i s very a c t i v e m e t a p l a s i a in t h e
c e r v i c a l e p i t h e l i u m , a f a c t which s u g g e s t s s e n s i t i v i t y o f t h e
d i v i d i n g e p i t h e l i a l c e l l s t o any mutagen in t h e e nviro nm en t,
p a r t i c u l a r l y herpes simplex v i r u s t y p e . 2.
The p o t e n t i a l f o r
development o f c a n c e r i s i n c r e a s e d on t h i s b a s i s .
The s e x u a l l y
14
a c t i v e pre gna nt a d o l e s c e n t may be doubly v u l n e r a b l e t o herpes
simplex type 2.
In a d d i t i o n , Hein (1977) found a pre va le nc e
r a t e f o r e a r l y n e o p l a s t i c changes o f 35 per 1000 in 12 to 16
y e a r ,o ld sexually a c t i v e g i r l s .
Out o f 403 Pap s m e a r s , 168
showed evidenc e o f inflammation o r c y t o l o g i c a t y p i a . -
In ,14
o f t h e smears t h e r e was e v id en c e o f e a r l y n e o p l a s t i c change in
th e c e r v i c a l e p i t h e l i u m ..
Vaginal i n f e c t i o n s have b e e n . r e p o r t e d as t h e most,
f r e q u e n t l y observed problem in t e e n a g e pregnancy.
The high
r a t e s of ven ereal d i s e a s e add t o t h i s p o t e n t i a l f o r pregnancy
related infections.
The a d o l e s c e n t o f t e n has mixed i n f e c t i o n s
o f m o n i l i a and t r i c h o m o n a s , r e q u i r i n g a d d i t i o n a l t r e a t m e n t .
P o s s i b l e c o m p l i c a t i o n s of go norr hea in c lu d e p o t e n t i a l s c a r in g
of t h e f a l l o p i a n tu bes l e a d i n g t o i n f e r t i l i t y o r e c t o p i c
pregnancy (Mercer, 1980).
Toxemia of pregnancy has been a c o m p li c a ti o n in teenage
pregnancy with a r e p o r t e d r a t e o f o b s e r v a t i o n from' 4.3 to
23.5%.
Most of t h e s t u d i e s o f t e e n a g e pregnancy r e p o r t a
h i g h e r i n c i d e n c e of toxemia in t e e n s . ( M e r c e r , 1980).
P s yc hO lO gic a l' Risks'
P s y c h o l o g i c a l l y , a d o l e s c e n t s f a c e f i v e i m p o r t a n t develop­
mental t a s k s n e c e s s a r y t o g a in a s e n s e of i d e n t i t y , in ti m a c y ,
and re a ch some degre e o f emotional m a t u r i t y as an a d u l t .
15
These f i v e t a s k s a r e :
I) i n t e g r a t i o n o f h e r p e r s o n a l i t y f o r
f u t u r e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , 2) e m anc ipa tio n from he r p a r e n t s and
f a m i l y , 3) c r e a t i o n o f s a t i s f a c t o r y r e l a t i o n s with t h e o p p o s i t e
s e x , 4) a cc e pt an c e o f a new body image a f t e r t h e r a p i d physi cal
changes o f t h i s pe ri o d and 5) a d e c i s i o n a bout t h e v o c a t i o n
she f o l l o w s (J ohnson, 1979).
For some, t h e t a s k s a r e ve ry
d i f f i c u l t and r e s u l t in f r u s t r a t i n g , s t r e s s f u l e x p e r i e n c e s .
Research s u g g e s t t h a t ps y c h o lo g i c a l needs could be c o n t r i b u t o r y t o unti me ly p r e g n a n c i e s .
.
The mental d i s e q u i l i b r i u m
u s u a l l y accompanying any pregnancy, when imposed on t h e
p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y immature person can be f r i g h t e n i n g and may
have ve ry n e g a t i v e as well as s t r e s s f u l e f f e c t s (Mercer, 1980).
Mercer (1980) has found p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y , th e a d o l e s c e n t ' s
ego may be immature and have d i f f i c u l t y d e a l i n g with th e
us ual emotions r e s u l t i n g from t h e changes o f pregnancy.
In-
a b i l i t y o f th e young woman t o i d e n t i f y w it h and n o t s e p a r a t e
from h e r mother poses a d d i t i o n a l problems .
In a d d i t i o n ,
t h e s t a t u s o f t h e a d o l e s c e n t ' s c o g n i t i v e development and
t h e range o f u n d e r s ta n d in g i s not c o m p le te , e s p e c i a l l y in
e a r l y adolescence.
Young people tend t o t h i n k in p r e s e n t
tefms and f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t to c o n s i d e r t h e f u t u r e o r t o
f o r e s e e cause and e f f e c t in b e h a v i o r .
A dole sc e nts te n d to
be s e l f - c e n t e r e d and b e l i e v e t h a t t h e o r d i n a r y r u l e s o f l i f e
/
16
do not a pp ly t o them.
Over t w o - t h i r d s o f t h e 30 te e n a g e mothers in one study
( B a l r k i a n , 1971) had i n t e n s e dependency n e e d s .
Over o n e - h a l f
had poor t o l e r a n c e f o r work , ' s c h o o l , and f r u s t r a t i o n .
One h a l f
•iV
had poor judgment and marginal a d j u s t m e n t s .
p a t t e r n s were predominant in t h e s tu d y .
Three psychodynamic
F i r s t , the g i r l ' s re ­
l a t i o n s h i p t o h e r mother was a de pen de n t- in d e p e n d e n t s t r u g g l e
wit h t h e g i r l d i s p l a y i n g c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s with th e mother.
Second, t h e g i r l ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o her f a t h e r o r h e r r e a c t i o n
'
to h i s absence r e f l e c t e d an u n r e s o lv e d oedipal c o n f l i c t .
.
T h i r d , t h e g i r l ' s need t o prove h e r s e l f with p e e r s was i n t e n s e .
Most o f t h e t e e n s in t h e s t u d y had weak egos.
Another s tu d y i n d i c a t e d t h a t pregnancy may a c t u a l l y be in
c o n f l i c t w ith t h e young g i r l ' s pe rsonal v a lu e system and
t h r e a t e n h e r i d e a l image and f u t u r e r o l e i d e n t i t y .
In i n t e r ­
views. With 200 Unwed m o th e r s , ages 12 t o 42, Friedman (1972)
observed a d e f i c i e n c y in ego f u n c t i o n i n g .
Al I la ck e d a
r e a l i t y o r i e n t e d awareness of and concern f o r t h e i r sexual
lives.
The r e s e a r c h e r concluded t h a t the a d o l e s c e n t mother
i s handicapped by c o n f l i c t s in h e r l i f e goal s and a d e f i c i e n t
v
ego.
Rubin (1975) i d e n t i f i e d f o u r maternal t a s k s d uri ng
pregnancy which may be viewed as ps ycho log ic al t a s k s .
F irst,
17
th e p r e g n a n t woman se e ks t o i n s u r e a s a f e passage through
pregnancy and t h e c h i l d b i r t h e x p e r i e n c e f o r both h e r s e l f and'
her c h ild .
Second, she f i n d s a c c e p ta n c e f o r h e r c h i l d by
pe rsons most meaningful t o h e r .
T h i r d , she must i n c o r p o r a t e
t h e ide a o f a c h i l d i n t o h e r s e l f - s y s t e m .
g iv e o f h e r s e l f t o t h e unborn c h i l d .
F o u r t h , she must
Generally, these tasks
a r e more d i f f i c u l t f o r t h e . . a d o l e s c e n t t o accomplish because
of he r p s y c h o lo g i c a l s t a t u s .
' S o c i b l b q i c a l ' Risks
The s o c i o l o g i c a l r i s k s f o r t h e pregnant a d o l e s c e n t have
an i m p a c t . a s g r e a t as or g r e a t e r th a n o t h e r . k i n d s o f . r i s k s .
The p r e g n a n t a d o l e s c e n t i s more l i k e l y to have a d d i t i o n a l
■ c h i l d r e n w hi le she i s s t i l l an a d o l e s c e n t , which in t u r n i n ­
c r e a s e s t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l r i s k s f o r both h e r s e l f and her
f u t u r e c h i l d r e n ( C u r r i e , 1972).
She w i l l have d i f f i c u l t y
p ur s uin g h e r e d u c a t i o n and w i t h o u t an e duca tio n she i s a t an
i n c r e a s e d r i s k f o r dependence on o t h e r s , making i t d i f f i c u l t
f o r her t o a c h i e v e independence o r to maint ai n an optimal
s t a n d a r d o f l i v i n g and h e a l t h c a r e .
I f th e y o u t h f u l mother
m a r r i e s , she i s a t an i n c r e a s e d r i s k f o r d i v o r c e and i s faced
w it h t h e a d d i t i o n a l a d u l t t a s k o f assuming t h e r o l e of w i f e ,
a t a s k f o r which she i s i l l p r e p a r e d .
Teenage m a r r i a g e s f r e q u e n t l y have many problems.
While
18
d i v o r c e r a t e s a r e .high a c r o s s . a l l • age grou ps , t e e n a g e m a rr ia g e s
a r e more l i k e l y t o end in d i v o r c e tha n ma rr ia ge s o c c u r r i n g
among o l d e r p e r s o n s .
Teenage American women who marry between
14 and 17 have a 72% chance o f d i v o r c e , th o s e who marry a t 18
or 19 have a 46% c hanc e (Mercer, 1980).
Often t e e n s who marry
a r e a l r e a d y p r e g n a n t . . F e e l i n g s of entrapment and r e s e n t m e n t of
th e l o s s o f e i t h e r a d o l e s c e n c e , e d u c a ti o n o r . s o c i a l p o s i t i o n
have been obs erved among p re m a ri t a l l y pre gn an t m a r r i e d c o u p l e s .
P r e m a r i t a l l y p r e g n a n t c ou ple s were found to have s u b s t a n t i a l l y
l e s s e a r n i n g power and t o p o s se ss fewer a s s e t s th a n o t h e r
c oup les a t t h e end o f f i v e y e a r s .
Husbands had l e s s ed u ca ti o n
and t h e r e was only a f i f t y - f i f t y chance t h a t t h e man would
complete high s c h o o l .
Mercer b e l i e v e s t h e s e d i s a d v a n t a g e s can
le ad t o d e c r e a s e d s e l f - e s t e e m .
M e r c e r ' s stu dy (1980) i n d i c a t e d
t h a t t h e s i n g l e mother f a r e d b e t t e r c o n t r a c e p t i v e l y , educa­
t i o n a l l y , and u s u a l l y v o c a t i o n a l l y i f they remained s i n g l e
( M e r c e r , ' 1980).
S o c ia l mores have s u f f i c i e n t l y r e l a x e d w i t h i n
th e l a s t decade so t h a t t h e s o c i a l stigma i s no t as g r e a t f o r
t h e unwed mother o r f o r h e r c h i l d as i t once was,
With t h i s
a c c e p ta n c e o r t o l e r a n c e by s o c i e t y more young mothers a re
e l e c t i n g t o r e t a i n cu sto dy o f t h e i r i n f a n t s .
A d o le sc e n t P a r e n t i n g Risks
Johnson (1979) d e s c r i b e s p a r e n t i n g as an a d u l t r o l e
19
r e q u i r i n g a d u l t s k i l l s and m a t u r i t y f o r i t s .s ucc ess ful
negotiation.
The a d o l e s c e n t who opts to assume t h e p a r e n t i n g
r o l e , e i t h e r by c h o i c e o r d e f a u l t , r e l i n q u i s h e s t h e usual s o c i a l
o p p o r t u n i t y o f e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n and r o l e play in s a f e s e t t i n g
t h a t p e r m i t s t h e dependent and independent s t a g e normal f o r
t h i s age.
F u r t h e r , Johnson b e l i e v e s , th e a b r u p t b re a k in the
c o n t i n u i t y o f h e r development which t h e a d o l e s c e n t mother
f a c e s when she must move from a c h i l d ' s dependent r o l e in
which she r e c e i v e s c a r e to the indepen de nt p a r e n t r o l e in which
she g iv e s c a r e , i s profound and o f t e n t r a u m a t i c .
I f she
chooses to marry she assumes an a d d i t i o n a l a d u l t r o l e t h a t
a l s o r e q u i r e s much r o l e a d ju s t m e n t.
Young a d o l e s c e n t s may be handicapped in assuming a d u l t
r o l e s because- t h e i r c o g n i t i v e a b i l i t i e s may n o t have reached
t h e s t a g e o f c o n c e p t u a l i z i n g and a b s t r a c t problem s o l v i n g . .
The young a d o l e s c e n t may be ve ry e g o c e n t r i c and u n a b l e t o view
s i t u a t i o n s from a n o t h e r p e r s o n ' s p e r s p e c t i v e .
Whether th e
a d o l e s c e n t can p r o v id e n u r t u r a n t , empathic and gro w th -i nd uci ng
p h y s i c a l c a r e f o r an i n f a n t depends upon her l e v e l o f c o g n i t i v e ,
emotional and s o c i a l m a t u r i t y .
A d d itionally, the psycholog­
i c a l a d j u s t m e n t t o pregnancy and impending motherhood may
i n t e n s i f y t h e . d i s e q u i l ibrum th e a d o l e s c e n t i s a l r e a d y ex per­
i e n c i n g in e v o l v i n g h e r a d u l t i d e n t i t y (Jo hnson , 1979).
D e li ss o v o y (1973) s t u d i e d 48 teenag e c ouple s d uri ng
20
t h e i r f i r s t t h r e e y e a r s of par e n th o o d .
He found t h e young
p a r e n t s as a whole t o be r a t h e r i n t o l e r a n t .
They were i m p a t i e n t ,
i n s e n s i t i v e , i r r i t a b l e , and l i k e l y t o use p h y s ic a l punishment
w it h t h e i r c h i l d r e n .
The s e v e r e f r u s t r a t i o n s e x p e r ie n c e d by
t h e young p a r e n t s were a t t r i b u t e d to t h e i r i n e x p e r i e n c e , un­
r e a l i s t i c e x p e c t a t i o n s o f c h i l d development, l a c k o f economic
r e s o u r c e s and a general d is a p p o i n tm e n t in t h e i r l i v e s .
Most new mothers f i n d t h e i r mothering r o l e s i n c l u d e hard
and f r u s t r a t i n g work.
They e x p r e s s p o s i t i v e , n e g a t i v e and
a m b i v a l e n t f e e l i n g s about t h e r o l e .
S t u d i e s have i n d i c a t e d
t h a t you n g e r mothers t o l e r a t e t h e i r f r u s t r a t i o n s w it h an
i n f a n t l e s s e a s i l y than the o l d e r mothers (Mercer, 1980).
Crumidy and J a c d b z i n e r (1966) s t u d i e d 100 unmarried .
p r i m i g r a v i d a s under 21 y e a r s o f age f o r 18 months t o determine
w h e th e r i n t e n s i f i e d s o c i a l work Woijld be o f b e n e f i t t o the
grolipi
All o f t h e mothers k e p t t h e i r i n f a h t s *
Many o f the
s u b j e c t s were h o s t i l e and a m b iv a le n t a bout t h e i r b a b i e s .
I
The m a j o r i t y were unhappy in t h e i r r o l e s as unwed m o th e rs .
Although t h e young woman's a t t i t u d e toward c h i l d c a r e was
s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f her p a r e n t s , t h e young mothers were vdry
i n t e r e s t e d in r e c e i v i n g help w it h emotional pro ble ms , edu­
c a t i o n and e m p lo y m e n t. ' The y o u n g Tnothpr under 16 played
w it h h e r i n f a n t as i f he were a l i v e do ll and was c o n t e n t to
21
have h e r mother assume r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r h i s c a r e .
This stu dy
found t h a t with i n d i v i d u a l , h i g h l y i n t e n s e c a r e , t h e young
mothers were helped in job f i n d i n g s , work and p e r s o n a l i t y
development, a l l o f which i n c r e a s e d t h e i r se lf -c o n fi d e n ce " .
Su ppor t and r e c o g n i t i o n from h e r own mother seems to be
an im p o r t a n t f a c t o r in th e :.t e en a ge m o t h e r ' s r e s p o n s e t o the
mothering r o l e .
B i b r i n g (1965) observed t h a t a woman's un­
r e s o l v e d r e l a t i o n s h i p with h e r m o th e r , whether i t r e f l e c t s
e x c e s s i v e s u b m is s iv e n e s s Pr d e f i a n c e , can c r e a t e d i s t u r b a n c e s
in t h e e a r l y m o t h e r - c h i l d r e l a t i o n s h i p .
To be a h e a l t h y ,
happy m o th e r, t h e woman must evo lve from h e r e a r l i e r c h i l d ­
l i k e r e l a t i o n s h i p t o h e r own mother and become coequal with
h e r mother as a mo ther.
A p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith h e r mate a p p e a rs to enhance
a t e e n a g e r ' s s e l f - e s t e e m and t o c o n t r i b u t e t o h e r sens e of
femine i d e n t i t y in t h e mothering r o l e .
A favorable r e la tio n ­
s h i p with t h e f a t h e r o f th e c h i l d was a s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r in
t h e s u c c e s s f u l a d a p t a t i o n o f 18 to 28 y e a r old mothers to th e
m at ernal r o l e in one study (M ercer, 1980).
' The .01 d e r Unwed P r e g n a n t ' Woman
I t .is i m p o r t a n t t o b e a r in mind t h a t t h e r e i s ve ry l i t t l e
r e s e a r c h done in t h e f i e l d o f th e o l d e r unwed mo ther.
Much of th e
i n f o r m a t i o n on t h i s t o p i c i s e x p e r t o p in io n r a t h e r th a n r e s e a r c h
22
f i n d i n g s and pro v a b le d a t a .
Half of t h e unwed b i r t h s in 1975 were to women over 19 y e a r s
o f age.
In o t h e r words, 1% o f a l l l i v e b i r t h s in 1975, o r 223,950
b i r t h s , were to t h e o l d e r unwed woman (ACOG, 1980).
Numerous s t u d i e s have . i n d i c a t e d a s p o r a d i c use o f c o n t r a c e p t i v e s
among,older s e x u a l l y a c t i v e unwed women.
Some have s p e c u l a t e d t h a t
t h i s i s because of t h e g u i l t caused by preplanned p r e p a r a t i o n f o r
sexual a c t i v i t i e s w h i l e o t h e r s b e l i e v e i t may be d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d
t o th e un re s o lv e d t a s k s of a d o l e s c e n c e such as t h e fo r m at i o n of
a firm i d e n t i t y , t h e development o f t h e c a p a c i t y f o r in ti m a c y and
t h e fo r m at i o n of s t a b l e a f f e c t i o n a l bonds.
These u n r e s o lv e d
t a s k s o f a d o le s c e n c e must be acc omplishe d b e fo re t h e i n d i v i d u a l
can p r o g r e s s in development and fo c us on l i f e work.
In a d d i t i o n ,
th e problems a r e co m p li c at e d by c o n c u r r e n t matur a t i o n a l t a s k s of
emancipation from p a r e n t s , v o c a t i o n a l s e l e c t i o n , and t h e fo r g in g
o f a new ind ep en den t v a l u e ' s y s t e m ;
On t h e o t h e r han d^ as th e
women's l i b e r a t i o n movement has p r o g r e s s e d and t h e c on c e p ts o f ,
e q u a l i t y and pe rsonal c h o ic e i n c r e a s e d more unwed women a r e
pla nning p r e g n a n c i e s .
There has been l i t t l e r e s e a r c h on in c r e a s e d
p h y s i o l o g i c a l r i s k s f o r t h e o l d e r unwed woman.
Because o f t h e i r
i n c r e a s e in p s y c h o lo g i c a l and s o c i o l o g i c a l problems, e x p e r t s
tend to p la c e t h e o l d e r unwed.in a high" r i s k c a t e g o r y . . Ph ys io ­
l o g i c a l problems would be more r e l a t e d to ps ych olo gic a l and
23
s o c i o l o g i c a l problems th a n th e y would be to a ge, as in th e
adolescent.
While t h e r e :is l i t t l e r e s e a r c h in th e ps y c h o lo g i c a l
■'vi­
and s o c i o l o g i c a l r i s k a r e a , t h e r e s e a r c h found was d e s c r i b e d in th e
pre ced ing s e c t i o n (J o h n so n , 1979; Mercer, 198 0 ). '
■ ■
'
Summary
The l i t e r a t u r e on t h e unwed pre g n a n t women, based on e x p e r t
opinio n and r e s e a r c h , demo nst rat ed t h a t t h e s e women have unique
p h y s i o l o g i c a l , p s y c h o l o g i c a l , s o c i a l and p a r e n t i n g needs,;
These
women, a d o l e s c e n t and o l d e r a l i k e , a r e b e l i e v e d t o f a c e seven
personal c r i s e s r e l a t i v e t o t h e i r pregnancy:
t h e i r own .family,
a d j u s t m e n t ; r e d e f i n i t i o n o f r o l e s and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s ; growth
and development; c h i l d r e a r i n g d e c i s i o n s ; f i n a n c i a l s t r e s s e s ;
s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n ; and s o c i a l stigma.
The p s y c h o l o g i c a l and s o c i o l o g i c a l l i t e r a t u r e r e v ie w .o n the
im p o r t a n t i s s u e s r e l a t e d t o t h e unwed pregna nt woman i s in
accord an ce w it h t h e r e s e a r c h e r s own impression t h a t t h e unwed
pre gna nt woman i s e a s i l y in f l u e n c e d by o u t s i d e f a c t o r s .
question t h a t a r i s e s i s :
The
a r e t h e s e women e x t e r n a l or i n t e r n a l
in t h e i r lo c u s o f c o n t r o l ? ■
' I n t e r n a l - E x t e r n a l ' Locus' o f Control
The s e c t i o n p e r t a i n i n g to lo cu s o f c o n tr o l w i l l p r e s e n t
t h e c o n c e p t o f i n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l lo cu s o f c o n t r o l , t h e a n t e ­
c ed e n ts o f t h e lo c u s o f c o n t r o l and p e r t i n e n t r e l a t e d c o n c e p t s .
24
I n t e r n a l - E x t e r n a l Locus o f Control Concept
The co nc e pt o f i n t e r n a l v e rs us e x t e r n a l c o n t r o l o f r e i n f o r c e ­
ment developed by J u l i a n R o t t e r . in h i s s o c i a l l e a r n i n g th e o r y
developed in '1954.
Many r e s e a r c h e r s r e f e r to lo cu s o f c o n t r o l as
t h e major o r c e n t r a l c o n c e p t in s o c i a l l e a r n i n g t h e o r y ( R b t t e r ,
1975).
According t o R o t t e r ' s ( 1 9 7 5 , - p . 58) s o c i a l l e a r n i n g t h e o r y ,
t h e g e n e r a l formula f o r p o t e n t i a l b e h a v io r to oc cu r in any s p e c i ­
f i c s i t u a t i o n i s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e expectancy that* t h e be h a v io r w i l l
le a d t o a p a r t i c u l a r r e i n f o r c e m e n t in t h a t s i t u a t i o n , t h e va lu e of
t h a t r e i n f o r c e m e n t , and t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l s i t u a t i o n .
The review
of l i t e r a t u r e w i l l fo c u s on t h e co n ce p t o f i n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l locus
of control.
R o t t e r ' s m a jo r r e s e a r c h r e g a r d i n g locus o f c o n t r o l
was un de rta ken in t h e e a r l y 1 9 6 0 ' s w it h one o f h i s major works,
t h e I n t e r n a l - E x t e r n a l Locus o f Control S c a l e , being p u b l i s h e d in
1966.
I n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l l o c u s o f c o n t r o l r e f e r s to t h e e x t e n t to
which p e rs o n s p e r c e i v e c o n t i n g e n c y r e l a t i o n s h i p s between t h e i r
a c t i o n s and t h e i r outcomes.
People who b e l i e v e they have some
control over t h e i r d e s t i n i e s are c a lle d in t e r n a l s ; they believe
t h a t a t l e a s t some c o n t r o l r e s i d e s w i t h i n th em sel ve s.
Conversely,
e x t e r n a l s b e l i e v e t h a t t h e i r outcomes a r e determined by ag en ts
or f a c t o r s e x t r i n s i c t o t h e m s e lv e s ; f o r example, by f a t e , l u c k ,
chan ce , powerful o t h e r s o r t h e u n p r e d i c t a b l e .
A p e r c e p t i o n of
25
casual r e l a t i o n s h i p need not be a l l or more, but can v a ry in de gre e.
Research i n d i c a t e s people are handicapped by e x t e r n a l lo cu s of
control o r i e n t a t i o n s .
The p r e v a i l i n g b e l i e f i s t h a t i t i s d e s i r ­
a b l e t o change p e o p l e , e s p e c i a l l y th o s e not doing well in our s o c i e t y ,
in th e d i r e c t i o n o f i n t e r n a l i ' t y .
I n t e r n a l s engage in more i n s t r u ­
mental g o a l - d i r e c t e d a c t i v i t y , whereas e x t e r n a l s more o f t e n m a n i f e s t
emotional n o n - g o a l - d i r e c t e d responses' (Robinson, 1973)..
In review
of pr e v io u s s t u d i e s , doe (1971) summarized t h a t s u b j e c t s who i n ­
d i c a t e d l e s s c o n t r o l o f t h e world around them by s c o r i n g n e a r e r
t h e e x t e r n a l end o f t h e s c a l e tended to be more anx ious and ag­
g r e s s i v e , la c k e d s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e and were l e s s t r u s t f u l and more
suspicious of o th e rs .
S u b j e c t s who i n d i c a t e d more pe rs ona l
c o n t r o l of t h e i r world by s c o r in g toward t h e i n t e r n a l end o f the
s c a l e ten ded t o spend more time on i n t e l l e c t u a l a c t i v i t i e s , showed
more i n t e r e s t j n academic p u r s u i t s and s co re d h i g h e r on i n t e l l i ­
gence and achie ve men t t e s t s ( J o e , 1971, p. 638).
R o t t e r (1966)
b e l i e v e d t h a t i n d i v i d u a l s with s t r o n g i n t e r n a l c o n t r o l would be
more a l e r t t o a s p e c t s o f the environment which might a f f e c t t h e i r
f u t u r e b e h a v i o r , would t r y to improve t h e i r environmental con­
d i t i o n s , would be more concerned a bout perso nal a b i l i t y and would
be more r e s i s t a n t t o s u b t l e a tt e m p ts o f i n f l u e n c e .
Lefcourt
(1966) summarized t h a t high e x t e r n a l s u b j e c t s p o r t r a y e d themselves
as l e s s concer ne d a b o u t achievement and more a n x i o u s , w h i l e th os e
I
26
who were more i n t e r n a l i n d i c a t e d g r e a t e r s u c c e s s e x p e c t a n c i e s in
achievement s i t u a t i o n s .
' A nte ced en ts
F a c t o r s which a f f e c t t h e development o f t h e i n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l
c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n may be b r o a d l y d i s t i n g u i s h e d as e i t h e r e p is o d i c
or accumulative.
E pi so di c f a c t o r s a r e c o n s i d e r e d temporary while
a c c u m u la ti v e f a c t o r s a r e more f o r m a t i v e ( R o t t e r , 1966).
' ' E pi so di c Ante ced en ts
Ep is od ic a n t e c e d e n t s a r e t h o s e i m p o r t a n t e v e n t s t h a t
oc cu r a t a given p o i n t in ti m e ; e . g . , ■' t h e d e a th of a loved
one, an e ar th qua ke o r o t h e r d i s a s t e r s .
Such a n t e c e d e n t s may
c au s e temporary s h i f t s , u s u a l l y t o e x t e r n a l i t y .
The e f f e c t s
o f e p i s o d i c changes w i l l endure when i n t e r n a l i z i n g or ex­
t e r n a l i z i n g f a c t o r s c o n t i n u e to p r e s e n t th e m s e l v e s .
' ' Accumula t i v e ' Antece de nts
Accumulative a n t e c e d e n t s r e f e r t o t h e c o n ti n u o u s exposures
t h a t can a f f e c t t h e development o f i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l c o n tr o l
orientations.
Three i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r s have been i d e n t i f i e d !
I ) p a r e n t a l c h i l d - r e a r i n g p r a c t i c e s , 2) pro longed i n c a p a c i ­
t a t i n g d i s a b i l i t y , and 3) s o c i a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n .
" ' P a r e n t a l ChiI d - R e a f i n g ' P f a c t i ces
. Chance's (1972) r e s e a r c h shoWs t h a t i n t e r n a l s and
e x t e r n a l s were exposed t o d i f f e r e n t c h i l d - r e a r i n g p r a c t i c e s .
27
I n t e r n a l s come from warm de m ocr at i c homes with a combination
o f n u r t u r a n e e , p r i n c i p l e d d i s c i p l i n e , p r e d i c t a b l e Stan da rds
and companionship.
E x t e r n a l s tend t o come from homes who
use more p h y s i c a l ■punishment, d e p r i v a t i o n of p r i v i l e g e s ,
and o v e r p r o t e c t i o n .
E x t e r n a l i z i n g p a r e n t p r a c t i c e s seem.,
most l i k e l y to be used by p a r e n t s who a r e thems elve s e x t e r n a l ,
and i n t e r n a l i z i n g p r a c t i c e s by t h o s e who a r e i n t e r n a l .
As a r e s u l t o f t h e s e s t u d i e s on maternal a n t e c e d e n t s
o f c h i l d r e n ' s b e l i e f in e x t e r n a l o r i n t e r n a l c o n t r o l of r e ­
i n f o r c e m e n t s , Chance (1972, p. T68) hy poth e si ze d t h a t a
c h i l d w it h a c l o s e , p o s i t i v e m o t h e r - c h i l d r e l a t i o n s h i p , an
a p p e t i t e f o r m a te rn al approval, and a high e xpect an cy of
a t t a i n i n g i t , would be more i n t e r n a l .
Chance b e l i e v e s mothers
who were more l e n i e n t r e g a r d i n g what l e v e l of accomplishment
i s re w ar dab le and who were, l i b e r a l with re w ards, induced in
th e c h i l d an a p p e t i t e f o r and ap expectancy o f f u r t h e r r e ­
ward.
This i s in. c o n t r a s t t o t h e mother who i s more s t r i n g e n t
about e v a l u a t i n g t h e c h i l d ' s l e v e l o f accomplishment and
l e s s l i b e r a l w it h re w a r d s, causing, t h e c h i l d to d e v a l u a t e
h is own e f f o r t s and t o r e g a r d them as mostly i n e f f e c t i v e in
c o n t r o l l i n g h i s w orl d.
Chance found in her s t u d i e s t h a t a
c h i l d w ith an e x t e r n a l lo c u s o f c o n t r o l ach ieved well and
was in t h e p ro c e ss o f being e f f e c t i v e l y s o c i a l i z e d toward
28
his or her a d u lt social r o le .
F u r t h e r i t was i d e n t i f i e d
t h a t an i n d i v i d u a l ' s l o c u s was f a i r l y well det ermi ne d by the
grade school y e a r s .
A d d it io n a l r e s e a r c h by -Robinson (1973) s u g g e s t s t h a t
t h e development o f l o c u s ' o f c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n might be,
a f f e c t e d by t h e amount of d i r e c t c o n t r o l t h a t can be a f f e c t e d
by t h e i n f a n t .
Rese arch ers- a r e f i n d i n g t h a t l o w e r - c l a s s
i n f a n t s a r e not exposed to t h e same amount of p a r e n t a l , r e i n ­
for cem en t s t i m u l i as m i d d l e - c l a s s i n f a n t s ( m o t h e r - c h i l d fa c e
to f a c e ty p e c o n t a c t ) .
In a d d i t i o n to t h i s , lower s o c i a l -
economic groups t e n d t o be more e x t e r n a l .
Robinson b e l i e v e s
t h e r e i s a s l i g h t movement towards i n t e r n a l i t y w it h achievement
of a d u lt h o o d .
So ci al '.D i s c r i m i n a t i o n
B a t t l e and R o t t e r (1972) found in t h e i r s t u d i e s an e f f e c t
of t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f - s o c i a l c l a s s and e t h n i c group op i n t e r n a l e x t e r n a l lo c u s o f c o n t r o l s c o r e s .
c h i l d r e n were t e s t e d .
Negro and w h it e school
I n t h e i r s t u d y , th e lower c l a s s Negro
was more e x t e r n a l th a n a l l o t h e r groups t e s t e d and was s i g n i ­
f i c a n t l y more e x t e r n a l tha n m i d d l e - c l a s s Negroes o r w h i t e s .
M i d d l e . c l a s s c h i l d r e n , in g e n e r a l , were s i g n i f i c a n t l y more
i n t e r n a l than l o w e r - c l a s s c h i l d r e n .
Lower c l a s s Negroes with
high 'I . Q . 1s were more e x t e r n a l tha n middle c l a s s w h i t e s with
29
lower I . Q. 1s .
T h e . a u t h o r s h y p o th e s i z e d t h a t b r i g h t e r lower
c l a s s Negroes may develo p extreme a t t i t u d e s as a d e f e n s e r e ­
a c t i o n t o p e r c e i v e d reduced c h o i c e s f o r c u l t u r a l o r m a t e r i a l
rew ards.
' Rel a t e d Concepts
Whether one i s i n t r i n s i c o r e x t r i n s i c in how the y view th e
n a t u r e o f t h e c au s a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between o n e ' s own b e h a v i o r and
i t s consequences a p p e a rs to a f f e c t a l a r g e segment o f l i f e . .
'
'
,
.
/
'
There
•
ap pe a r t o be s e v e r a l r e l a t e d c o n c e p t s .
/■
A lienation .
The c o n c e p t o f a l i e n a t i o n does seem r e l a t e d t o t h e
v ariab le of "internal-external con tro l.
The a l i e n a t e d i n d i v i ­
dual f e e l s u n a b le to c o n t r o l h i s own d e s t i n y .
He i s a small
cog in a big machine and a t t h e mercy o f f o r c e s t o o s t r o n g
or to o vague t o c o n t r o l .
Pr ev io us r e s e a r c h has l i n k e d tRd
co n ce p t o f a l i e n a t i o n :as i t r e f e r s to p o w e r le s s n e s s t o
e x t e r n a l c o n t r o l as a p s y c h o lo g i c a l v a r i a b l e ( R o t t e r , 1966).
Helplessness
H e l p l e s s n e s s i s t h e ps y c h o lo g i c a l s t a t e t h a t f r e q u e n t l y
r e s u l t s when e v e n t s a r e u n c o n t r o l l a b l e .
Events a r e pe rc ei ve d
as u n c o n t r o l l a b l e when one e i t h e r cann ot do a n y t h i n g a bout i t
o r when n o th in g one does m a t t e r s * A person i s h e l p l e s s with
r e s p e c t t o some outcome when t h e outcome occurs i n d e p e n d e n tl y
30
of a l l h is v o l u n t a r y r e s p o n s e s .
E x t e r n a l i t y and h e l p l e s s n e s s
have many c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s in common and in many r e s p e c t s a re
i n t e r t w i n e d in c o n c e p t.
In h i s r e s e a r c h , Seligman (1975) found t h a t e x t e r n a l
i n d i v i d u a l s become h e l p l e s s more e a s i l y than i n t e r n a l s and
f e l t t h a t e x t e r n a l i t y was one o f t h r e e in de pen de nt f a c t o r s
pro ducing l e a r n e d h e l p l e s s n e s s .
From h is r e s e a r c h , he concludes
t h a t what produces s e l f - e s t e e m , a sens e of competence and
p r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t d e p r e s s i o n , i s not only t h e a b s o l u t e q u a l i t y
o f e x p e r i e n c e , b u t t h e p e r c e p t i o n t h a t o n e ' s own a c t i o n s
c o n tro lle d the experience.
This seems very i n t e r t w i n e d with
t h e co n ce p t o f i n t e r n a l c o n t r o l .
To t h e de gre e t h a t uncon­
t r o l l a b l e e v e n t s o c cu r e i t h e r t r a u m a t i c or p o s i t i v e , de­
p r e s s i o n w i l l be p r e d i s p o s e d and ego s t r e n g t h undermined.
To
t h e de gre e t h a t c o n t r o l l a b l e e v e n ts o c c u r , a s e n s e o f mast ery
and r e s i s t a n c e t o d e p r e s s i o n w i l l r e s u l t .
Summary
In summary, t h e c o n c e p t o f lo cu s o f c o n t r o l i s t h e e x t e n t to
which pe rs ons p e r c e i v e c o n ti n g e n c y r e l a t i o n s h i p s between t h e i r
a c t i o n s and t h e i r outcomes.
I t i s t h e degree to which an i n d i v i ­
dual p e r c e i v e s t h e o r i g i n o f c o n t r o l t o be w i t h i n or o u t s i d e h e r ­
self..
A s e r i e s o f s t u d i e s pro v id e s s t r o n g s u p p o rt f o r t h e
h y p o t h e s i s t h a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l who has a s t r o n g b e l i e f t h a t he
31
can c o n t r o l h i s own d e s t i n y i s l i k e l y t o :
I) be more a l e r t t o
th o s e a s p e c t s o f t h e environment which p r o v id e u s e f u l i n f o r m a t i o n
f o r h is f u t u r e b e h a v i o r , 2) t a k e . s t e p s t o improve h i s environmental
c o n d i t i o n , 3) p l a c e g r e a t e r va lu e on s k i l l or achievement r e i n f o r c e ­
ments and be g e n e r a l l y more concerned w it h h i s a b i l i t y , p a r t i c u l a r l y
h i s f a i l u r e s , and 4) be r e s i s t i v e to s u b t l e a t t e m p t s t o i n f l u e n c e
him ( R o t t e r , 1966).
' O p e r a t i o n a l ' Framework
The b a s i s o f t h i s s tu dy i s R o t t e r ' s . l o c u s of c o n t r o l .as i t
a p p l i e s t o t h e unwed pre g n a n t woman.
The a n t e c e d e n t s a s s o c i a t e d
w ith d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f an i n t e r n a l or e x t e r n a l lo cu s o f c o n t r o l
a r e o p e r a t i o n a l i z e d in terms of the v a r i a b l e s commonly a s s o c i a t e d
with th e unwed p r e g n a n t woman.
They a r e f u r t h e r d e l i n e a t e d :as
e p i s o d i c (t e m p o ra ry ) o r acc um ula tiv e ( f o r m a t i v e ) ,
Accumulative
f a c t o r s a r e r e p r e s e n t e d by s i x v a r i a b l e s and e p i s o d i c by f o u r
variables.
' Accumulative V a f i a b l e s
-
,
,
The f i r s t a c c u m u la ti v e v a r i a b l e i s t h e socioeconomic s t a t u s
of the p a r t i c i p a n t .
B a t t l e r and R o t t e r ' s r e s e a r c h . (1972) i n d i ­
c a t e d a s t r o n g c o r r e l a t i o n between a low socioeconomic s t a t u s and
an e x t e r n a l lo c u s o f c o n t r o l .
In t h e i r s t u d i e s , i n d i v i d u a l s in
t h e low socioeconomic s t a t u s tended t o f e e l l i t t l e c o n t r o l over
th eir lives.
.
32
The second a cc um ul a ti ve v a r i a b l e i s t h e e t h n i c background of
the p a rtic ip a n t.
B a t t l e and R o t t e r ' s (1972) s t u d i e s have i n d i c a t e d
m i n o r i t i e s , e s p e c i a l l y Negroes and N at ive Americans, te nd t o be
more e x t e r n a l in t h e i r o r i e n t a t i o n .
B a t t l e and R o t t e r ' s re s e a r c h
a l s o i n d i c a t e d t h e combination o f a low socioeconomic . s t a t u s and
a m i n o r i t y e t h n i c grouping tended to i n c r e a s e t h e te nden cy towards
an e x t e r n a l l o c u s o f c o n t r o l more than each f a c t o r c o n s i d e r e d
separately.
The t h i r d a c c u m u la ti v e v a r i a b l e i s t h e achievement l e v e l of
the p a r t i c i p a n t .
R o t t e r ' s s t u d i e s (1966) have i n d i c a t e d a c o r r e ­
l a t i o n between an i n t e r n a l lo cu s o f c o n t r o l and a d r i v e f o r a ch ie ve
ment.
The e a r l y s t u d i e s s u g g e s t t h a t peop le who a r e high on th e
need f o r achievement have some b e l i e f in t h e i r own a b i l i t y o r s k i l l
t o de te r m in e t h e outcome o f t h e i r e f f o r t s .
The r e l a t i o n s h i p i s
p ro b a b ly n o t l i n e a r , however, t h e f o l l o w i n g v a r i a b l e s have been
t h e o r i z e d by t h e r e s e a r c h e r as being a cc um ula tiv e a n t e c e d e n t s .
They a r e .viewed as acc um ula tiv e v a r i a b l e s because t h e y i n v o lv e
t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s o f t h e ps ych olo gic a l s t a t e even i f t h e s p e c i f i c
p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s have not been d e te r m in e ^ .
The r e s e a r c h to
d a t e in l o c u s o f c o n t r o l has not a d d r e s s e d th e s t a t e o f pregnancy,
l e t a l o n e t h e unwed pre g n a n t women.
v a ria b le s of:
The r e s e a r c h e r s e l e c t e d the
keeping or n o t keeping t h e i n f a n t ; c o n t i n u e d
r e l a t i o n s h i p ( i n terms o f who they l i v e d with d urin g pregnancy
33
and t h e main s u p p o r t person d u ri n g l a b o r ) ; and c h o i c e o f a s u p p o rt
system f o r c h i l d b i r t h t r a i n i n g .
I t i s b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e s e a re
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e a ccu mu la tiv e a n t e c e d e n t s a s s o c i a t e d with the
unwed p r e g n a n t s t a t e .
E pisodic' Variables
E p i s o d i c a n t e c e d e n t s a r e t h o s e i m p o r t a n t e v en ts t h a t oc cur a t
a gi ve n p o i n t in time t h a t may cause temporary s h i f t s in lo c u s of
control o rie n ta tio n .
V a r i a b l e s which a r e t h e o r i z e d by t h e . r e s e a rc h e r
as be ing e p i s o d i c a n t e c e d e n t s a r e r e l a t e d t o unwed pregnancy.
Pregnanacy i s viewed by t h e r e s e a r c h e r as an i m p o r t a n t e v e n t which
may c a u s e a temporary s h i f t in lo c u s o f c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n .
Two
s t a g e s i n t h e pregnancy pro c e ss a r e viewed as e p i s o d i c v a r i a b l e s .
These two s t a g e s of pregnancy, t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r and t h e e a r l y
po s tp ar tu m p e r i o d o f t h r e e t o . f i v e days a f t e r d e l i v e r y , may i n ­
f l u e n c e a temporary s h i f t in lo c u s o f c o n t r o l .
during the th ir d
t r i m e s t e r o f pregnancy most women have r e s o l v e d t h e pregnancy
i t s e l f b u t a r e a p p re h en s iv e ab out l a b o r and d e l i v e r y .
During th e
e a r l y p os tp ar tu m pe rio d most women a r e i n v o l v e d w it h i n f a n t car e
and r e c o v e r y from t h e b i r t h p r o c e s s .
The temporary s t a t e ' o f being unwe.d, t h e n e x t v a r i a b l e , might
i n f l u e n c e an e p i s o d i c s ii if t. in lo c u s o f c o n t r o l .
The s t a t e of
be ing unwed and pre gn a nt might i n f l u e n c e such items as f a m ily
.and p e e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s , f u t u r e p l a n s and t h e woman's s e l f - c o n c e p t .
34
The planned o r unplanned a s p e c t o f t h e pregnancy might a l s o
t e m p o r a r i l y a l t e r a woman's lo c u s o f c o n t r o l .
Her f e e l i n g s of
pe rsonal c o n t r o l over h e r p r e s e n t l i f e and h e r f u t u r e might be
a f f e c t e d by t h i s f a c t o r .
Summary
These v a r i a b l e s a r e viewed as f a c t o r s of t h e a cc u m u la ti v e
and e p i s o d i c a n t e c e d e n t s which p o s s i b l y a f f e c t t h e development of
t h e i n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l l o c u s of c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n o f t h e unwed
pr e g n a n t woman.
An i n d i v i d u a l ' s l o c u s o f c o n t r o l may be a con­
t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r in becoming an unwed p r e g n a n t woman.
The
r e s e a r c h e r from p r i o r e x p e r i e n c e and revie w o f l i t e r a t u r e b e l i e v e s
t h a t unwed p r e g n a n t women have a te nden c y towards an e x t e r n a l locus
of c o n t r o l .
The o p e r a t i o n a l framework f o r t h i s s t u d y i s based upon
R o t t e r ' s lo c u s o f c o n t r o l c o n c e p t , and i s u t i l i z e d t o d e s c r i b e
t h e unwed p r e g n a n t woman i n terms o f h e r l o c u s of c o n t r o l .
The
f o ll o w i n g paradigm p r e s e n t s t h e o p e r a t i o n a l framework f o r th e
study.
>'■
‘
35
S o c i opccnomi c
E t h n i c Group
Ac h i e v e me n t Level
K e e p - n o t ke e p
Continued r e l a t i o n s h i p s
C h o i c e f o r Lamaze
Pr e g n a n c y
wed-unwed
planned-unplanned
prenatal-postpartum
p o i n t s in
EPISODIC
(temporary)
ACCUMULATIVE
(formative)
ANTECEDENTS
( e x p e c t a n c y o f c a u s e and e f f e c t )
LOCUS OF CONTROL
EXTERNAL
Figure I .
A PARADIGM:
INTERNAL
THE UNWED PREGNANT WOMAN AND LOCUS OF CONTROL
CHAPTER I I I
METHODOLOGY
This c h a p t e r d e s c r i b e s t h e r e s e a r c h methodology used in t h i s
s tu d y .
D e t a i l s a r e given o f t h e d e s i g n , t h e sample and s e t t i n g ,
th e i n s t r u m e n t , demographic v a r i a b l e s ,. d a t a c o l l e c t i o n proce dure
and t h e a n a l y s i s o f t h e d a t a .
A level I d e s c rip tiv e research
de sig n was used f o r t h i s s t u d y (Brink and Wood, 1978).
Data
measuring t h e lo c u s o f c o n t r o l o f unwed pre gn an t women were
g a t h e r e d a t two s t a g e s o f t h e pregnan cy, t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r of . ■
pregnancy and t h e e a r l y p os tp ar tu m p e r i o d .
Demographic d a t a
r e f l e c t i n g a n t e c e d e n t s Which p o s s i b l y a f f e c t th e lo c u s o f Control
o r i e n t a t i o n were g a t h e r e d in t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r of pregnan cy.
Sample and S e t t i n g
A c on ve nie nc e sample o f unwed p r e g n a n t women p a r t i c i p a t e d
in t h e st ud y through t h e Lamaze' c l a s s e s sponsored by t h e Yellow­
s to n e C it y County Health Department.
This Health Department
spon sor s Lamaze c l a s s e s f o r unwed o r low income women o r couples'.
The f r e e c l a s s e s a r e seven weeks in l e n g t h and co ver t h e t o p i c
a r e a s o f t h e c h i l d b e a r i n g p ro c e s s and t h e Lamaze t o o l s .
Women
a t t e n d t h e c l a s s e s t h e i r l a s t t r i m e s t e r of pregnancy:
While in a t t e n d a n c e in Laniaze c l a s s e s i s su pposed ly v o l u n t a r y .
37
i t i s s t r o n g l y encouraged by th e Yellowstone City County Health
Department s t a f f .
P a r t i c i p a n t s in t h e M a t e r n a l - I n f a n t P r o j e c t a t
th e Health Department m u s t . a t t e n d p r e n a t a l c l a s s e s or Lamaze' in
o r d e r t o r e c e i v e . f i n a n c i a l .aid.'through t h e P r o j e c t .
Women a t t e n d i n g
th e Yellowstone C i t y County Health Department Lamaze' c l a s s e s a r e
g e n e r a l l y low income and p o t e n t i a l l y a t r i s k n u t r i t i o n a l l y / p h y s i ­
cally/em otionally.
' Data C o l l e c t i o n I n s t r u m e n t
The R o t t e r I n t e r n a l - E x t e r n a l
( I - E ) Locus of Control S c a l e
was t h e i n s t r u m e n t used t o gain measure of th e locus o f c o n t r o l of
th e p a r t i c i p a n t s .
This 29 item f o r c e d c h o i c e s c a l e a s s e s s e s t h e
degree t o which a perso n b e l i e v e s th e o r i g i n of c o n t r o l t o be
i n t e r n a l or e x t e r n a l t o h e r s e l f . .
Each item c o n s i s t s o f two
s t a t e m e n t s from which t h e i n d i v i d u a l re s p o n d e n t must choose one
as b e s t t y p i f y i n g h e r b e l i e f about t h e s p e c i f i c c o n t e n t inj t h o s e .
two s t a t e m e n t s .
The s c a l e t a k e s 10 t o .15 min ute s t o complete
and has a s c o r e o f .0 (maximally i n t e r n a l ) t o 23 (maximally
external).
S i x ite m s a r e f i l l e r items which a re po t s c o r e d .
For
t h i s s t u d y , a - s c o r e o f 0 t o 12 i s c o n s i d e r e d i n t e r n a l and a s cor e
o f .13 t o 23 i s e x t e r n a l .
Appendix A c o n t a i n s , the R o t t e r I n t e r n a l -
Ext ernal Locus o f Control S c a le ,
R eliability '
An i n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y c o e f f i c i e n t of
70 was o b t a i n e d
38
from a sample o f .400 by R o t t e r (1-966). . In a t e s t - r e t e s t , r e ­
l i a b i l i t y c o e f f i c i e n t s were'computed by R o t t e r as . 7 2 .
For t h i s
s t u d y no t e s t s o f r e l i a b i l i t y were u n d e r t a k e n .
V alidity
T e s t i n g s have i n d i c a t e d the R o t t e r S c a l e i s s e n s i t i v e to
measuring t h e l o c u s o f c o n t r o l and i s s t i l l c o n s i d e r e d t h e main
to o l f o r t h i s pu rp o s e .
The R o t t e r i s d i s c r i m i n a n t w it h th e
Marlowe-Crowne S o c ia l D e s i r a b i l i t y S c a l e from - .07 t o - .35
and to Edward's S o c i a l D e s i r a b i l i t y S c a l e s t o range between
- .23 and - .7 0 .
C o r r e l a t i o n s with measures of i n t e l l i g e n c e
have ranged from .03 t o - .22 ( R o t t e r , 1966).
These c o n c u r r e n t
t e s t s o f v a l i d i t y were judged by th e r e s e a r c h e r t o be a deq ua te
and no t e s t s o f v a l i d i t y with a sample p o p u l a t i o n were u n d e rt a k e n .
' ' Demographic V a f i a b l es
E i g h t demographic q u e s t i o n s were asked a t t h e f i r s t adm ini­
s t r a t i o n o f th d R o t t e r I-E S c a l e .
The demographic q u e s t i o n s
were i n d i c a t i v e o f p o t e n t i a l f a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t i n g to t h e a n t e c e ­
d e n ts o f t h e lo c u s of c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n .
The demographic
i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u e s t e d .i n fo r m a t io n a bout t h e pe rs ons m a r r i e d
s t a t u s as t h e Lamaze c l a s s e s had both wed and unwed c o u p le s
participating.
This was done so t h a t t h e unwed p r e g n a n t woman
would n o t be s i n g l e d o u t" d u r in g t h e i n i t i a l t e s t i n g , b u t would
a ll o w t h e r e s e a r c h e r ' t o g a t h e r d a ta s p e c i f i c a l l y on t h e unwed
39
p e rs o n .
Appendix B c o n t a i n s t h e demographic q u e s t i o n n a i r e .
Data C o l l e c t i o n P r oce dur e
The T h i rd T r i m e s t e r Data ColI e c t i o n
During c l a s s t h r e e o f t h e Lamaze s e r i e s th e purpose o f t h e
s t u d y was e x p l a i n e d to t h e c l a s s .
The s t u d y was e x p l a i n e d in
r e l a t i o n s h i p to t h e p o s s i b l e change i n l o c u s o f c o n t r o l r e s u l t i n g
from a Lamaze b i r t h e x p e r i e n c e .
This was done to avoid c au s in g
any u nc om fo rt a ble f e e l i n g t o t h e . p a r t i c i p a n t s .
The R o t t e r I-E
Locus o f Control S c a l e , demographic q u e s t i o n n a i r e and c b n s e n t
forms were d i s t r i b u t e d .
Both t h e c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y and t h e v o l u n t a r y
a s p e c t o f t h e s tu d y were c a r e f u l l y e x p l a i n e d .
To f u r t h e r i n s u r e
c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y and a n o y m it y , t h e r e s e a r c h e r i n s t r u c t e d th o s e
n o t w is hi ng to p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e s t u d y t o t u r n in bla nk forms
so t h a t i t would not be known who p a r t i c i p a t e d and who did n o t .
While t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s completed t h e s t u d y , t h e r e s e a r c h e r l e f t
t h e roorn.
The purpose and c o n s e n t form i s found in Appendix C.
The Pos tpartum Data C o l l e c t i o n
Egch p a r t i c i p a n t was given a second R o t t e r I-E Locus o f
Control Sc a le w it h a stamped a d d r e s s e d e n v e lo p e .
The r e s e a r c h e r
r e q u e s t e d them t o complete i t t h r e e t o f i v e days a f t e r t h e i r
delivery.
This postpartu m tijne p e r i o d was chosen t o g i v e t h e
woman time to p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y r e c o v e r from h e r i n i t i a l
reaction
t o d e l i v e r y , and y e t n o t be inv olv ed in i n f a n t c a r e o r o t h e r
'40
l i f e s i t u a t i o n s long enough t o c o n t a m i n a t e t h e stu dy by p o t e n t i a l l y ,
i n f l u e n c i n g t h e lo c u s o f c o n t r o l .
Al I p a r t i c i p a n t s i n d i c a t e d t h a t
th e y would be w i l l i n g t o complete t h e S c l a e a f t e r d e l i v e r y .
A code system was developed t o c o o r d i n a t e t h e p r e b i r t h
R o t t e r I-E Locus o f Control Sc a le w it h t h e postpartum R o t t e r IrE
Locus o f Control S c a l e .
The p a r t i c i p a n t s were i n s t r u c t e d t o use
t h e same i d e n t i f i c a t i o n number on both forms and t o w r i t e t h e
number on both forms a t t h a t t im e .
The l a s t f o u r d i g e t s o f t h e i r
phone number o r s t r e e t number were s u g g e s t e d .
' ' Human' S u b j e c t P r o t e c t i o n
The s tu d y pro po s a l was approved by t h e Human S u b j e c t s Review
Committee o f Montana S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y .
t h e c on se nt form (Appendix C).
All p a r t i c i p a n t s si gned
Anonymity and c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y of
a l l p a r t i c i p a n t s was m a i n t a i n e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e st udy .
A n a l y s i s o f Data
The R o t t e r I-E Locus o f Control S c a l e was s cor ed a cc o rd in g
t o t h e s t a n d a r d R o t t e r I-E Score S h e e t (Appendix D).
was given f o r edch e x t e r n a l answer.
One p o i n t
P o s s i b l e s c o r e s range from
0 t o 23 w ith 0 being maximally i n t e r n a l and 23 being maximally
external.
For t h i s s t u d y , a s c o r e below 12 i s c o n s i d e r e d i n t e r n a l .
The R o t t e r I-E S c a l e s c o r e d a ta was a n a ly z e d by t h e use o f
descriptive s t a t i s t i c s .
The d a t a was a n a ly z e d f o c u s in g on locus
o f c o n t r o l measurement i n t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r and a g a in i n the
e a r l y po st partu m p e r i o d .
The demographic v a r i a b l e s were t a b u l a t e d
and an al yz e d by c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s and t a b l e s .
When a p p l i c a b l e ,
d e s c r i p t i v e s t a t i s t i c s were u s e d .
' Summary. ■ . .
The c h a p t e r p r e s e n t s t h e r e s e a r c h methodology developed f o r
t h i s study.
I t i n c l u d e s d e s c r i p t i o n s o f d e s i g n , sample and s e t t i n g ,
in s t r u m e n t s us ed ,, p r oc e du re o f d a t a c o l l e c t i o n and t h e method o f
data a n a ly s is .
CHAPTER .IV
PRESENTATION.AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
The purpose o f t h i s s tu d y was to d e s c r i b e , t h e unwed pre g n a n t
woman in terms o f h e r lo c u s o f c o n t r o l .
Twenty unwed p r e g n a n t
women completed t h e i n i t i a l p a r t of t h e s tu d y by com ple tin g t h e
R o t t e r I-E S c a l e and t h e demographic q u e s t i o n n a i r e .
Of t h e
20, 11 completed t h e R o t t e r . I - E -Scale a second time in t h e
e a r l y po st partu m p e r i o d .
' ' A n t e c e d e n t ' Demographic V a f i a b l es
Ei ght demographic q u e s t i o n s were asked a t t h e f i r s t admini­
s t r a t i o n of t h e R o t t e r I - E S c a l e . . The demographic q u e s t i o n s
were b e l i e v e d t o be i n d i c a t i v e of f a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t i n g to th e
a n t e c e d e n t s . o f t h e l o c u s of c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n .
Twenty unwed p r e g n a n t women completed t h e demographic
questionnaire.
They ranged in age from .15 t o .25 y e a r s o f age.
The mean age was 18.9 and t h e median age was 18 .5 ,
18 y e a r s .
The mode was
Ei ght ee n o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s were Caucasian and two
were Mexican American.
Eleven women l i v e d with t h e i r p a r e n t s ,
one l i v e d with an a u n t , one a s i s t e r and one a grandmother.
l i v e d with b o y f r i e n d s and t h r e e l i v e d a l o n e .
Three
Eleven o f ,the p a r t i ­
c i p a n t s planned t o have a g i r l f r i e n d Tielp them through l a b o r ,
43
4 planned to have t h e i r b o y f r i e n d s a s s i s t them, 3 t h e i r mo th e rs ,
one a s i s t e r and one an a u n t .
Of t h e tw e nty , t h r e e r e p o r t e d t h e
pregnancy was pla nned (ages 1 8 , 2 0 , 2 1 ) .
pregnancy was unplanned.
Seventeen r e p o r t e d t h e
Ei ghteen plann ed on keeping t h e baby
w hil e two were u n c e r t a i n (15 y e a r o l d l i v i n g
ol d l i v i n g a l o n e ) .
with p a r e n t s , 22 y e a r
Al I had been employed in t h e l a s t y e a r ex cept f o r
t h e two s i x t e e n y e a r o l d s .
This i n f o r m a t i o n i s i n c o r p o r a t e d in
Table I on page 47.
Locus o f Control
The lo cu s o f c o n t r o l as measured by t h e R o t t e r I n t e r n a l External Locus o f Control S c a l e o f t h e p a r t i c i p a t i n g women was
an alyzed in t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r o f pre gna ncy , t h e e a r l y p o s t ­
partum p e ri o d and t o g e t h e r with t h e a n t e c e d e n t demographic
variables.
Lqcus of Control in t h e T hi rd T r i m e s t e r
Twenty unwed p r e g n a n t women completed t h e R o t t e r I-E Locus
o f Control Sc a le d u ri n g t h e i r t h i r d t r i m e s t e r o f pregnancy.
The
mean locus o f c o n t r o l s c o r e f o r t h i s group was 9.9 w it h a range
from I to 17, a median o f 10 and a mode o f 11.
These s c o r e s are
co n si d e re d i n t e r n a l in lo c u s o f c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n .
While t h e .
s c a l e measures de gre e o f i n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l o r i e n t a t i o n , any
s c o r e below 12 i s c o n s i d e r e d i n t e r n a l .
Four o f t h e twenty p a r t i -
44
c i pa nt s had e x t e r n a l lo cu s of control, s c o r e s .
These s c o r e s were
16, 16, 17 and 13.
Locus o f Control in t h e .Postpartum Period
Eleven of t h e s e unwed pre gna nt women completed t h e R o t t e r
I-E Locus of Control S c a le again duri ng t h e i r e a r l y postpartum
period.
The mean postpartum locus o f c o n tr o l s cor e f o r t h i s group
was 9 , th e median was 9, t h e mode 9 and th e range 2 to 15.
This
g r o u p ' s mean score d i f f e r e n c e between t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r score
and t h e postpartum s cor e was - 0 . 0 0 , i n d i c a t i n g no change in the
lo c u s of c o n t r o l f o r t h i s group..
While i n d i v i d u a l sc or es
f l u c t u a t e d between t h e two time p e r i o d s , t h e g ro u p ' s mean s cor e
remained s t a b l e between th e two p e r io d s o f measurement.
group s co r e i s c o n s id e r e d i n t e r n a l .
The '
Four i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h i n the
group had e x t e r n a l scores, only one of t h e s e was e x t e r n a l during
th e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r measurement.
' Locus of Control and Antecedent Demographic V a r i a b l es
Table I (s e e page 47) i n d i c a t e s th e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r locus
o f c o n t r o l s c o r e s , t h e postpartum locus of c o n tr o l s c o r e s and
t h e a n t e c e d e n t demographic v a r i a b l e s .
Other than age, t h e
a n t e c e d e n t demographic v a r i a b l e s did not make any n o t a b l e ,
d i f f e r e n c e in the loc us of c o n tr o l s c o r e s .
The 20 and o l d e r
group in t h i s study measured more i n t e r n a l , with a mean I-E
Locus of Control Score o f 8 .9 , than t h e a d o l e s c e n t s with a mean
45
I-E Locus of Control Score of 10 .7 . . Table 2 (s e e page 48) i n d i c a t e s
the i n d i v i d u a l s c o r e s by ag e. a nd t h e t r e n d towards i n c r e a s i n g
i n t e r n a l i t y w i t h i n c r e a s i n g age.
The s t u d y r e s u l t s a r e s uppor te d in p a r t by t h e l i t e r a t u r e on
th e unwed p r e g n a n t woman and lo cu s o f c o n t r o l .
The tend enc y towards
i n c r e a s i n g i n t e r n a l i t y with, i n c r e a s i n g age from a d o l e s c e n c e to
adulthood i s s u p p o r te d by p r e v i o u s . s t u d i e s (Robinson, 1973).
While a l l o f t h e unwed pre g n a n t women p a r t i c i p a t i n g were
c o n s i d e r e d low so cio ec ono mi c, - t h e lo c u s o f c o n t r o l f o r t h e group
was i n t e r n a l .
This i s no t su ppo rte d by previo us r e s e a r c h ( B a t t l e
and R o t t e r , 1972) which i n d i c a t e s a tendency towards e x t e r n a l i t y
in low socioeconomic gro u p s .
However, i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t some
o f t h e women in t h i s s t u d y were in a temporary low socioeconomic
s t a t e be cause o f t h e i r unwed pregnancy and were not r a i s e d in
a low socioeconomic f a m i l y .
Ei gh te e n of t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s were Caucasian and two were
Mexican-American.
external
(13)..
Of t h e two, one was i n t e r n a l (9) and one was
P r e v io u s s t u d i e s ( B a t t l e and R o t t e r , 1972) have
i n d i c a t e d a te nden cy towards e x t e r n a l i t y in t h i s e t h n i c group.
'
While t h e o t h e r v a r i a b l e s did not appea r t o have any p a t t e r n
of i n f l u e n c e On t h e lo c u s of c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n s i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g
to note t h a t both t h e women u n c e r t a i n a bout keeping t h e i r b a b ie s
were i n t e r n a l and both chose to complete t h e e n t i r e s t u d y .
Patterns
46
of i n f l u e n c e were d i f f i c u l t to de te rm in e because of t h e sm al l sample
size.
Cbitipafis o n ' o f ' T h o s e ' Com ple tin g’ t h e Study Versus Those h o t Comple t i n g
. The Study
The unwed p r e g n a n t women com ple ting both t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r
R o t t e r I- E Locus o f Control S c a l e and th e pos tpartu m R o t t e r I -E
Locus o f Control S c a l e were as a group more i n t e r n a l on both t e s t s .
Women who did no t complete t h e postpartum" R o t t e r I- E S c a l e were
somewhat more e x t e r n a l .
The group completing th e s t u d y was o l d e r
than t h e group n o t com pleting t h e s t u d y .
The f i g u r e s a r e i n d i c a t e d
in Table 3' ( s e e page 49 ).
■ '.Summary
This c h a p t e r p r e s e n t e d t h e f i n d i n g s o f th e s t u d y . ' The
a n t e c e d e n t demographic v a r i a b l e s and t h e t h i r d t r i m e s t e r and
pos tpa rt um R o t t e r I-E Locus of Control s c o r e s were p r e s e n t e d and
discussed.
As a gro up , t h e unwed p re gna nt women p a r t i c i p a t i n g in
t h i s s tu d y were i n t e r n a l in t h e i r lo c u s of c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n .
TABLE I
LOCUS OF CONTROL SCORES AND ANTECEDENT DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
Post Pavtur
I-E Score
-
10
Planned IRplnyeiT Ethnic
Mari LaI | Lihc LiH f Ik Ip who Do Vou Plans for Baby
Status You In Labor live With Keep vs Mot Keei Pregnancy In last yr Group
boyfriend
Boyfriend
Keep
Unplanned Yes
Cauc.
Silly Ie
5
-
20
Single
Mother
Parents
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
11
5
16
Single
Girlfriend
Parents
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
0
-
19
Single
Boyfriend
Boyfriend
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
5
2
19
Single
Girl friend
Parents
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
9
9
20
Single
Girl friend
Alone
Keep
Planned
Yes
Cauc.
Yes
M fX lTtcxl
Third Trimester
I-E Score
10
9
13
-
Aqe
17
-
18
Single
Girlfriend
Parents
Keep
Unplanned
Single
Boyfriend
Alone
Keep
Planned
Yes
Aunt
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Amer.
Amor.
Cauc.
11
12
20
Single
Aunt
8
10
21
Single
Mother
Parents
Keep
Planned
Yes
9
13
18
Single
Boyfriend
Parents
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
8
9
15
Single
Mother
Parents
Uncertain
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
Boyfriend
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
I
Cauc.
11
-
17
Single
, Girlfriend
17
- ' '
15
Single
Girlfriend
Parents
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
I
2
25
Single
Girlfriend
Grandmother
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
11
13
24
Single
Girl friend
Parents
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
16
15
21
Single
Sister
Sister
Keep
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
10
9
22
Single
Girlfriend
Alone
Uncertain
Unplanned
Yes
Cauc.
11
-
16
Single ,
G'rlfrlend
Parents
Keep
Unplanned
No
Cauc.
16
-
16
Single
Girlfriend
Parents
-------------------t
Keep
Unplanned No
L
Cauc.
TABLE 2
THIRD TRIMESTER I-E LOCUS OF CONTROL SCORES AND AGE
T h i r d T r i m e s t e r I-E Locus o f Control Scores
23
22
21
E xt e r n a l
Locus o f
Control
20
19
18
17
■f-
tr­
ee
*
Internal
Locus o f
Cont rol
age in
years
21
22
24
I
TABLE 3
SCORES OF PARTICIPANTS COMPLETING THE STUDY AND PARTICIPANTS NOT COMPLETING STUDY
Mean Locus o f Control
Th ir d T r i m e s t e r
Th ir d T r i m e s t e r Postpartum Group
Third T r i m e s t e r
Group
Mean Locus o f Control
Postpartum
9
9
11.1
—
Mean
Age
20.2 y r s .
17.3 y r s .
CHAPTER V
• CONCLUSION
The main purpose o f t h e s tu dy was t o d e s c r i b e unwed pre gnan t
women.in terms of t h e i r lo cu s o f , c o n tr o l.
The group, as a whole,
tend ed t o be i n t e r n a l in t h e i r lo c u s of c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n .
In
o t h e r words, th e y b e l i e v e th e y have some c o n t r o l over t h e i r
destinies.
The b e l i e f o f t e n e x p re s s e d by h e a l t h c a r e workers
t h a t unwed pre g n a n t women dd n o t f e e l in c o n t r o l of t h e i r l i v e s
would no t be t r u e o f t h e group s t u d i e d .
The unwed p r e g n a n t women
p a r t i c i p a t i n g were n o t e x t e r n a l :as a grou p.
Only f o u r o f t h e
twe nty tended t o be e x t e r n a l in t h e i r l o c u s of c o n t r o l .
I t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e group s t u d i e d i s a small subgroup
o f t h e g e ner al s i n g l e p r e g n a n t p o p u l a t i o n s i n c e they chose t o
complete th e pregnancy and chose Lamaze, which i s a c h o i c e of
inv olvement in t h e b i r t h p r o c e s s .
Perhaps t h i s group would tend
t o be more i n t e r n a l than t h e s i n g l e p r e g n a n t p o p u l a t i o n :as a
whole.
Several s t u d i e s on m a rr ie d p r i m i p e r a s found no psycho­
l o g i c a l d i f f e r e n c e s between women who choose Lamaze'and t h o s e '
who do no t chose Lamaze.
T a n z e r ' s (1976) comparison found no
s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s betweep t h e two groups us in g p e r s o n a l i t y
i n v e n t o r i e s and m e a s u r e s ' o f s e l f - c O n c e p t .
Windwer (1977) found
51
no d i f f e r e n c e s between c h o o s e r s and non-chooser s on e i t h e r locus
o f c o n t r o l or s o c i a l d e s i r a b i l i t y .
According to R o t t e r 1s’. (19.75) s o c i a l l e a r n i n g t h e o r y , t h e
general formula f o r p o t e n t i a l b e h a v i o r t o occu r in any s p e c i f i c
ps y ch o lo g i ca l s i t u a t i o n i s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e expectancy t h a t the
b e h a v io r w i l l le ad t o a p a r t i c u l a r r e i n f o r c e m e n t in t h a t s i t u a t i o n
and th e v a l u e of t h a t r e i n f o r c e m e n t .
I n ' o t h e r wo rds , expectancy
o r locus o f c o n t r o l of t h e c aus e and e f f e c t o f b e h a v i o r i s o n ly
one o f t h e t h r e e ma jor d e t e r m i n a n t s o f a beh avi or p o t e n t i a l in
social learning theory.
The second ma jor de te r m in a n t i s t h e val ue
o f th e r e i n f o r c e m e n t t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l .
In t h i s s tu d y t h e
d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a l u e o r reward o f becoming
p re gn a nt and d e l i v e r i n g a baby must be s t r o n g l y c o n s i d e r e d .
The
t h i r d major d e t e r m i n a n t i s t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l s i t u a t i o n i t s e l f
( R o t t e r , 1975 p. 5 8).
P s y c h o lo g ic a l s i t u a t i o n s r e f e r t o t h e
p a s t o r p r e s e n t e v e n ts in an i n d i v i d u a l s l i f e t h a t e i t h e r have
e f f e c t e d o r a re p r e s e n t l y e f f e c t i n g an i n d i v i d u a l ' s emotional
o r ps y c h o lo g i c a l s t a t e o f b e i n g .
"Ps ych ol ogica l s i t u a t i o n s
de te rm in e both e x p e c t a n c i e s and r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a lu es and thus
i n f l u e n c e b e h a v i o r tre m e ndo us ly .
While such t h i n g s as academic achievements measured by
school gra de s and achievement t e s t s c o r e s ' q a n be q u i t e a c c u r a t e l y
p r e d i c t e d by measuring b e l i e f in p e rs o n a l c o n t r o l , (Chance, 1972)
52
unwed pregnancy does not seem t o c o r r e l a t e s i n g u l a r l y , w i t h l o c u s ' '
of c o n tro l.
T h e r e f o r e , t h e o t h e r two b e h a v i o r d e t e r m i n a n t s must
f r e q u e n t l y be i m p o r t a n t f u n c t i o n s in de te r m in in g th e b e h a v io r
proc ess o f unwed pregnancy.
The r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a l u e o f a pregnancy
and an i n f a n t must be c o n s i d e r e d when working with.unwed pre gn an t
women.
T h e . p s y c h o l o g i c a l s i t u a t i o n of t h e i r p a s t and p r e s e n t
l i f e happenings must be s t u d i e d ' i n d i v i d u a l l y in r e l a t i o n s h i p to
t h e i r r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a l u e s . a n d t h e i r formed e x p e c t a n c i e s of .
b e ha vio r al cause and e f f e c t .
I t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t some unwed p r e g n a n t women become
pre gna nt because th e y have an e x t e r n a l lo c u s of c o n t r o l and do no t
f e e l in c o n t r o l o f t h e i r l i v e s from a c aus e and e f f e c t view p o i n t .
I t i s a l s o p o s s i b l e t h a t unwed women who have an i n t e r n a l locus
of c o n t r o l become p r e g n a n t because o f t h e i r psy ch o lo g i ca l
s i t u a t i o n a n d / o r t h e r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a l u e o f t h e pregnancy and
infant.
This s td d y 's r e s u l t s pro v id e no c l e a r ev idence r e l a t i v e
t o e i t h e r p o s s i b i l i t y , t h e r e f o r e , in a t t e m p t i n g t o d e s c r i b e '
unwed pr e gna nt women, t h e i r p s y c h o l o g i c a l s i t u a t i o n , e x p e c t a n c i e s
of cause and e f f e c t o f b e h a v i o r and r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a l u e s must a l l
be c o n s i d e r e d .
The t h e o r y o f c o g n i t i v e development in t h e e a r l y
a do le s c en c e and t h e de la y e d c o g n i t i v e development by some u n t i l
a f t e r a d o le s c e n c e s u p p o r t s t h e need to examine a l l a s p e c t s of .
R o tte r's social learning theory.
DevelopmentaTly, e a r l y
a d o l e s c e n t s tend to have an undeveloped co ncept of cause and
e f f e c t and have d i f f i c u l t y r e l a t i n g t h e i r be hav io r to i t s r e s u l t s .
I t has been su gge st ed by some b u t not re s e r a c h e d t h a t o l d e r s i n g l e
pr eg na nt women may have a lag in c o g n i t i v e development (Mercer, 1980)
In summary, s i n g l e p regn an cie s a r e complex and m u l t i c a u s a t i o n a l
and u n t i l f u r t h e r s t u d i e s a r e completed and v a l i d a t e d , each unwed
/
-
'
p re gn a nt woman should be i n d i v i d u a l l y a s s e s s e d as to h e r psycholog­
i c a l s t a t e , r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a lu es and e x p e c ta n c ie s o f cause and
e f f e c t and approached acc ord ing t o th e i n d i v i d u a l ass e ss m e nt.
This
s t u d y s 1 l i m i t e d f i n d i n g s s u p p o rt t h e need to f u r t h e r e x p l o r e the
locus o f c o n t r o l as well as o t h e r im p o r ta n t p s y c h o l o g i c a l , develop­
mental and c o g n i t i v e a s p e c t s of the unwed pregna nt woman.
L i m i t a t i o n s of t h e Study
The l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e study in c l u d e :
1.
P a r t i c i p a n t s in th e stu dy were a convenience sample of
unwed p re gna nt women.
The r e s e a r c h e r , however, approached
a l l unwed p re gna nt women p r e s e n t a t t h e Yellowstone City
County Lamaze c l a s s e s in a s i x month p e ri o d .
2.
The convenience sample of unwed pre gn an t women might
a c t u a l l y be a subgroup of th e general unwed pre g n a n t
p o p u l a t i o n as t h e group s t u d i e d chose t o complete th e
pregnancy r a t h e r than t e r m i n a t e i t by a b o r t i o n and
54
■ chose Lamaze c h i l d b i r t h ' i n s t r u c t i o n .
3.
The sample s i z e was s m a l l.
.
Twenty women completed th e f i r s t
R o t t e r s c a l e and 11 of t h e s e 20 completed th e second R o t t e r
scale.
The 20 p a r t i c i p a n t s a r e approxim at el y 10% o f th e
unwed b i r t h s in Yellowstone County a n n u a ll y (Montana Vital.
S t a t i s t i c s , 1979).
4.
The completion and r e t u r n of th e postpartum I-E Locus of
Control Sc a le was not monitored and could have been completed
a t times o t h e r than th e t h r e e to f i v e days a f t e r d e l i v e r y
as r e q u e s t e d by t h e r e s e a r c h e r .
Impli c a t i o n s f o r Nurs ing '
The l i m i t a t i o n s of th e study pre c lu d e any major recommenda­
t i o n s f o r nur si ng in meeting th e needs o f unwed p re gna nt women.
The f a c t remains t h a t unwed pregnancy i s a complex and m u l t i c a u s a t i o n a l e ve nt n e c e s s i t a t i n g an i n d i v i d u a l i z e d approach to
each unwed pre gna nt woman based on a c o n s i s t e n t be hav ior al
a ss e ss m e nt .
Nurses must not make general assumptions r e l a t i v e to.
unwed pregna nt women, but r a t h e r develop a be hav ior al assessment
which a d d r e s s e s t h e t h r e e main b e hav io r al d e te r m in a n ts of the
s o c i a l l e a r n i n g t h e o r y ; locus of c o n t r o l , r e in f o r c e m e n t value
and th e ps ycho log ic al s t a t e .
A p r o f e s s i o n a l ' s approach in pla nnin g f o r nurs in g i n t e r ­
v e n t i o n s f o r an unwed pregna nt woman should vary i f th e woman i s
55
i n t e r n a l or e x t e r n a l in h e r lo c u s of c o n t r o l .
An i n t e r n a l
o r i e n t e d woman would pAobably do b e s t w it h knowledge o r f a c t s
p r e s e n t e d in a cl e ar . mariner with c a u s e s and e f f e c t s emphasized
and d e c i s i o n s allowed to be i n d i v i d u a l Iy made.
She would probably
do b e t t e r in a group s i t u a t i o n than an e x t e r n a l l y o r i e n t e d person
be cause she would not need a one t o one r e l a t i o n s h i p as much.
An
e x t e r n a l o r i e n t e d woman would do b e t t e r with more s t r u c t u r e and
i n d i v i d u a l encouragement with he r d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s .
While
lo c u s o f c o n t r o l i s c o n s i d e r e d a f a i r l y s t a b l e p e r s o n a l i t y c h a r a c ­
t e r i s t i c , i t does seem t o be i n f l u e n c e d by e v en ts and i n s t r u c t i o n '
and i t i s perhaps p o s s i b l e t h a t w it h enough t im e , encouragement,
and i n s t r u c t i o n on cause and e f f e c t of d e c i s i o n s t h a t a woman
co ul d become more i n t e r n a l , th u s f u n c t i o n b e t t e r .
I f a health
c a r e p r o v i d e r approaches pregnancy as a m a t u r a t i o n a l p r o c e s s
as d e s c r i b e d by Rubin ( 1 975 ) , a pregnancy would be an i d e a l
tim e t o enhance growth towards i n t e r n a l i t y o f t h e p r e g n a n t woman.
The i n d i v i d u a l ' s r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a l u e o r reward o r pregnancy
must be c a r e f u l l y a s s e s s e d .
t h a t co ul d be approached.
T h i s . c ould re v e a l many unmet needs
A n t i c i p a t o r y guidance as t o t h e r e a l i s t i c
b e h a v i o r o f a baby and i t s p o s s i b l e i n a b i l i t y to meet t h e maternal
needs s ho uld be approached when n e c e s s a r y ,
R e l a t i o n s h i p s with
t h e woman's f a m i l y and mate and how t h e y might i n f l u e n c e a
pregnancy as a r e i n f o r c e m e n t va lu e sho uld be a s s e s s e d .
56.
F i n a l l y , t h e psy ch olo gi ca l s t a t e o f t h e woman's p a s t and
p r e s e n t l i f e s i t u a t i o n s should be unde rs too d in o r d e r t o con­
s t r u c t i v e l y focus on t h e f u t u r e .
This in fo r m at io n i s probably
b e s t gained by s k i l l f u l i n t e r v i e w i n g and a t r u s t i n g p r o f e s s i o n a l
relationship.
This asse ssm en t could p o s s i b l y be expanded when working
wit h young women who might be a t r i s k f o r unwed pregnancy.
The
ass e ss m e nt and i n d i v i d u a l i z e d approach might help them with an
expanded knowledge o f t h e i r own be h a v io r and a s s i s t them with
l i f e pl a n n in g .
' Recommendations f o r F u r t h e r Study
1. ' This stu dy should be r e p l i c a t e d with a l a r g e number of
■ unwed p re gna nt women.
2.
S t u d i e s based on R o t t e r ' s (1975) complete Social
Learning Theory could be focused on t h e rewards or
r e i n f o r c e m e n t v a l u e s of an unwed pregnancy and th e
psychological, s i t u a t i o n s r e l a t e d to an unwed pregnancy.
3.
Ethnographic i n t e r v i e w s o f unwed pregna nt women could
pr ovide v a l u a b l e in fo r m a t io n r e l a t i v e to t h e i r , p e r c e p t i o n s
of a n t e c e d e n t s .
4.
F u r t h e r s t u d i e s on th e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f Lamaze to changes
in lo c u s of c o n t r o l on both a t r a n s i t o r y and permanent
b a s i s could be conducted.
An i n t e r e s t i n g s i d e l i g h t
■?
57
to t h e stu dy i s t h e change in lo cu s of c o n tr o l t o a more
i n t e r n a l s t a t e by a mean of 2.4 among th e m a r r i e d . p a r t i c i ­
pa nts in t h e postpartum l o c u s .
While th e number i s to o .s m a ll
t o make any c o n c l u s i o n s , s t u d i e s do su p p o rt th e p o s s i b l e
change in lo cu s o f c o n t r o l a f t e r s p e c i f i c i n s t r u c t i o n s o r
events.
Some s t u d i e s ( F e l t o n , 1978; Willmuth, 1975; Willmuth,.
1978) have sug ges te d t h a t Lamaze c h i l d b i r t h e x p e r ie n c e can
change a locus of c o n t r o l .
5.
Lon gi tu di nal s t u d i e s a s s e s s i n g the. locus of c o n t r o l s t a r t i n g
with a d o l e s c e n t women would pro vid e v a l u a b l e in fo r m at io n
as t o when o r i f o n e ' s locus o f c o n t r o l changes duri ng the
a d o l e s c e n t s developmental pe ri o d and i t s p o t e n t i a l r e ­
l a t i o n s h i p to l i f e c h o i c e s , such as unwed pregnancy.
vI
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Rubin, R.
Maternal t a s k s in pregnancy.
M ate rna l- C h iId Nursing
J o u r n a l . 1975, 4 ( 3 ) , 143-153.
Se!igm an, M.
Help i e s s n e s s .
*
San F r a n c is c o :
W.H. Freeman and
Co., 1975.
T a n z e r , D.
Why n a t u r a l c h i l d b i r t h ?
New York:
Schocken Books,
1976.
United S t a t e s Department of Health and Human S e r v i c e s , Publi c
Health S e r v i c e , O f f i c e o f Health Rese arch , S t a t i s t i c s , and
Technology.
Health United S t a t e s , 1980.
Np. P.H.S. 81-1939) .
W illmuth , L.R.
(D.H.H.S. Pub.
H y a t t s v i l i e , Maryland:
A uthor, 1980.
Prepared c h i l d b i r t h and t h e concept of c o n t r o l .
J ou rna l o f O b s t e t r i c a l and Gynecological N u r s in g , 1975,
4, 38-41.
Willmuth, L . R . , Weaver, L. & B o r e n s t e i n , J .
S a t i s f a c t i o n with
prepa red c h i l d b i r t h and loc us of c o n t r o l .
Journal of O b s t e t r i -
cal and Gynecological Nu rsing, 1978, 2, 33-37.
I
Windwer, C. The r e l a t i o n s h i p among p r o s p e c t i v e p a r e n t s ' locus
of c o n t r o l , s o c i a l d e s i r a b i l i t y and c hoice of psychoprophylaxis
Nursing R e s e a r c h , 1977, 26_ (M a rc h / A p r il ) 96-99.
Z l a t n i k , F.G. & Burmeis t e r , L.F.
o b stetric risk fa c to r.
Low gynecologic age:
An
American Journal of O b s t e t r i c s and
Gynecology, 1977, 128 ( 2 ) , 183-186.
• APPENDICES
64
APPENDIX A
I-E SCALE
1.
a.
C hild re n g e t i n t o t r o u b l e because t h e i r p a r e n t s punish them
too much.
b.
The t r o u b l e with most c h i l d r e n howdays i s t h a t t h e i r p a r e n t s
a r e too easy with them.
2.
a.
Many o f t h e unhappy t h i n g s in p e o p l e ' s l i v e s a r e p a r t l y due
to bad luck.
3.
b.
P e o p l e ' s m i s f o r t u n e s r e s u l t from t h e m is ta ke s th e y make.
a.
One o f t h e major re a so n s why we have wars i s because people
d o n ' t t a k e enough i n t e r e s t in p o l i t i c s ,
b.
There w i l l always be wars, no m a t t e r how hard people t r y to
p r e v e n t them.
4.
a.
In t h e long run people g e t t h e r e s p e c t they dese rve in t h i s
world.
b.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , an i n d i v i d u a l ' s worth o f t e n p a s s e s un re c ogn i­
zed no m a t t e r how hard he t r i e s .
5.
a.
The idea t h a t t e a c h e r s a re u n f a i r to s t u d e n t s i s nonsense,
b.
Most s t u d e n t s d o n ' t r e a l i z e t h e e x t e n t to which t h e i r grades
a r e i n f l u e n c e d by a c c i d e n t a l happenings.
6.
a.
Without t h e r i g h t breaks one cannot be an e f f e c t i v e l e a d e r ,
b.
Capable people who f a i l to become l e a d e r s have not taken
65
^ advantage o f t h e i r o p p o r t u n i t i e s
7.
a.
No m a t t e r how hard you t r y some people j u s t d o n ' t l i k e you.
b.
People who c a n ' t g e t o t h e r s t o l i k e them d o n ' t understand
how t o g e t along with o t h e r s .
8.
a.
H e re di ty pla y s t h e major r o l e in deter min ing o n e ' s p e r s o n a l i t ,
b.
I t i s o n e ' s e x p e r ie n c e s i n l i f e which determine what t h e y ' r e
like.
9.
a.
I have o f t e n found t h a t what was going t o happen w i l l happen,
b,.
T r u s t i n g f a t e has never t u r n e d o u t as well f o r me as making
a d e c i s i o n t o t a k i n g a d e f i n i t e course o f a c t i o n .
10.
a.
In t h e ca s e o f t h e well pre pa re d s t u d e n t t h e r e i s r a r e l y
i f ever such a t h i n g as an u n f a i r t e s t ,
b.
Many times exam q u e s t i o n s te n d to be so u n r e l a t e d to course
work t h a t st ud y in g i s r e a l l y u s e l e s s .
11.
a.
.
Becoming a su cce ss i s m a t t e r o f hard work, luck has l i t t l e
. o r nothing t o do with i t .
b.
G et ti n g a good j o b depends mainly on being i n t h e r i g h t pla ce
a t t h e r i g h t time.
12.
a.
*
The average c i t i z e n can have an i n f l u e n c e in government
decisions.
b.
This world i s run by t h e few people in power, and t h e r e i s
•%
66
not much t h e T i t t l e guy can do about i t .
13.
a.
When I make p l a n s , I am almo st c e r t a i n t h a t I can make
them work.
b.
I t i s not always wise to plan too f a r ahead because many
t h i n g s t u r n o u t to be a m a t t e r o f good o r bad f o r t u n e anyhow.
14.
15.
a.
There a r e c e r t a i n people who a r e j u s t no good.
b.
There i s some good i n everybody.
a.
In my ca se g e t t i n g what I want has l i t t l e o r nothing
to do w ith lu c k.
b.
Many times we might j u s t as well decide what t o do by
f l i p p i n g a c o in .
16.
a.
Who g e t s to be t h e boss o f t e n depends on who was lucky
enough t o be in t h e r i g h t p l a c e f i r s t .
b.
G e tt in g to do t h e r i g h t t h i n g depends on a b i l i t y , luck
has l i t t l e o r nothing to do with i t .
<5
17.
a. , As f a r as world a f f a i r s a re c o n c e r n e d , most o f us a re
v i c t i m s o f f o r c e s we can n e i t h e r un d e rs ta n d , o r c o n t r o l .
b.
By t a k i n g an a c t i v e p a r t in p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l a f f a i r s
th e people can c o n t r o l world e v e n t s .
18.
a.
Most people d o n ' t r e a l i z e t h e e x t e n t to which t h e i r
l i v e s a re c o n t r o l l e d by a c c i d e n t a l ha ppen ing s.
b.
There i s r e a l l y no such t h i n g as " l u c k " .
67
19.
20.
a.
One should always be w i l l i n g t o admit m i s t a k e s .
b.
I t i s u s u a l l y b e s t t o cover up o n e 's m is ta k e s .
a.
I t i s r e a l l y hard t o know wh ether o r not a person l i k e s you.
b.
How many f r i e n d s you have depends upon how n i c e a person you
are.
21.
a.-
<;
In t h e long run t h e bad t h i n g s t h a t happen to us are balanced
by t h e good ones.
b.
Most m i s f o r t u n e s a r e t h e r e s u l t o f l a c k o f a b i l i t y ,
ig n o ra n c e , l a z i n e s s , o r a l l t h r e e .
22.
a.
With enough e f f o r t we can wipe out p o l i t i c a l c o r r u p t i o n .
b.
I t i s d i f f i c u l t f o r people t o have much c o n t r o l over t h e
t h i n g s p o l i t i c i a n s do in o f f i c e .
23.
a.
Sometimes I c a n ' t unde rstan d how t e a c h e r s a r r i v e a t th e
grades they g i v e .
b.
There i s a d i r e c t c onnec tio n between how hard I study and
th e gra de s I g e t .
24.
a.
A good l e a d e r exp ect s people t o deci de f o r themselves what
they should do.
b.
A good l e a d e r makes i t c l e a r to everybody what t h e i r job s
are.
25.
a.
Many times I f e e l t h a t I have l i t t l e i n f l u e n c e over the
t h i n g s t h a t happen to me.
I
68
b.
I t i s im pos si bl e f o r me to b e l i e v e t h a t chance o r luck plays
an im p o r ta n t r o l e in my l i f e .
26.
a.
People a r e l o n e l y because th e y d o n ' t t r y to be f r i e n d l y .
b.
There i s not much use in t r y i n g hard t o p l e a s e p e o p le , i f
th e y l i k e you, t h e y l i k e you.
27.
28.
a.
There i s too much emphasis on a t h l e t i c s in high s ch ool.
b.
Team s p o r t s a r e an e x c e l l e n t way t o b u i l d c h a r a c t e r .
a.
What happens to me i s my own doing.
b.
Sometimes I fe e l t h a t I d o n ' t have enough c o n t r o l over th e
d i r e c t i o n my l i f e i s t a k i n g .
29.
a.
Most o f t h e time I c a n ' t u n de rs ta nd why p o l i t i c i a n s behave
t h e way th e y do.
b.
In t h e long run t h e people a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r bad
government on a n a t i o n a l as well as on a lo c a l l e v e l .
69
APPENDIX B
P le a s e complete t h e fo ll o w i n g q u e s t i o n s :
1.
2.
Age:________
• M ar it al s t a t u s :
.
m arried'
single
div orc ed
wi dow
3.
Et hnic grou p:............................................................. '
4.
Who w i l l be with you in la b o r ? ( f o r Lamaze5 who w i l l be your
coach?)
girlfriend
___
b o y f r i e n d ...........................
mother '
sister
husband
'
______ ____
............ ........
no one ...............
o t h e r , p l e a s e s p e c i f y ...................................
5.
Who do you l i v e with now?
p a r e n t s ________ '
g i r l f r i e n d ............... ..........
b o y f r i e n d __________ '
_____________
70
o t h e r , p l e a s e s p e c i f y ......................
6.
Are you plan nin g t o :
keep t h e baby
. '
' - ''
r e l i n q u i s h f o r a do ptio n _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
u n c e r t a i n '•
7.
Was t h i s a planned pregnancy?
yes '
no '
8.
Have you been employed in t h e l a s t ye ar ?
y e s ...........
no
r
71
Appendix c
■
CONSENT FORM
Purpose o f t h e s tu dy :
I,
The purpose of t h i s study i s to determine
i f Lamaze o r s t a n d a r d p r e n a t a l c l a s s e s change
a woman's f e e l i n g o f pe rsonal c o n t r o l .
' ' ' ' ! .......................................
, do v o l u n t a r i l y c onsen t to
p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e stu dy o f t h e e f f e c t o f d i f f e r e n t ty pe s o f p r e n a t a l
p r e p a r a t i o n on t h e f e e l i n g o f perso nal c o n t r o l o f pre gna nt women.
I
do u n de rs ta nd t h a t I w i l l be asked to complete a 29 item q u e s t i o n n a i r e
both in my 3rd t r i m e s t e r of pregnancy and a gai n ap pro xi ma te ly 3 days
a f t e r delivery.
I a l s o un de rs ta nd t h a t I w i l l be asked 8 demographic
q u e s t i o n s which I have a l r e a d y re a d .
I do underst and t h a t a l l i n f o r ­
mation i s c o n f i d e n t i a l and coded so t h a t my name w i l l not appear on
any forms.
I a l s o unde rs tan d t h a t I w i l l n o t r e c e i v e any f i n a n c i a l r e ­
imbursement f o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n and t h a t I may withdraw from t h e study
a t any time.
I a l s o conse nt to having a m a t e r n i t y nurs e from S t . Vincents
Hosp it al inform t h e r e s e a r c h e r t h a t I have d e l i v e r e d so t h a t she w il l
remind me to complete t h e o t h e r q u e s t i o n n a i r e on my 3rd day a f t e r
delivery.
I do un de rs ta nd t h a t no o t h e r in fo rm at io n but my d e l i v e r y
day w i l l be given.
signature
d a te
APPENDIX D
INTERNAL VS. EXTERNAL CONTROL
( C o r r e l a t i o n s a r e t h o s e o f each item with t o t a l s c o r e , excluding
th a t item.)
1.
a.
Child ren g e t i n t o t r o u b l e because t h e i r p a r e n t s punish
them too much.
b.
The t r o u b l e with most c h i l d r e n nowadays i s t h a t
F iller
t h e i r p a r e n t s a re too easy with them.
2.
a.
Many o f t h e unhappy t h i n g s in p e o p l e ' s l i v e s a r e
p a r t l y due t o bad lu c k.
b.
.26
P e o p l e ' s m i s f o r t u n e s r e s u l t from t h e m is ta ke s
th e y make.
3.
a.
,
One of th e major reaso ns why we have wars i s because
people d o n ' t t a k e enough i n t e r e s t in p o l i t i c s .
by
There w i l l always be wars, no m a t t e r how hard people
t r y t o p r e v e n t them.
4.
a.
.28
In t h e long run people g e t t h e r e s p e c t th e y deserve in
t h i s world.
by
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , an i n d i v i d u a l ' s worth o f t e n passes
unrecognized no m a t t e r how hard he t r i e s .
5.
a.
The idea t h a t t e a c h e r s a r e u n f a i r to s t u d e n t s i s
nonsense.
.29
73
b.
Most s t u d e n t s d o n ' t r e a l i z e t h e e x t e n t to which t h e i r
- grades a r e in f l u e n c e d by a c c i d e n t a l happenings.
6.
a.
.18
Without t h e r i g h t breaks one cannot be an e f f e c t i v e
leader.
b.
Capable peo ple
.32
whof a i l to
becomel e a d e r s
have not taken
advantage o f t h e i r o p p o r t u n i t i e s .
7.
-a.
No m a t t e r how hard you t r y some people j u s t d o n ' t l i k e
you.
b.
.23
People who c a n ' t g e t o t h e r s to l i k e them d o n ' t under­
s ta n d how to g e t along with o t h e r s .
8.
a.
H ered it y plays, t h e major r o l e in deter min ing o n e 's
J
personality.
b.
I t i s o n e ' s e xp er ie nc e s in l i f e which deter mine what
one i s l i k e .
9. \ a .
F iller
I have o f t e n found t h a t what i s going t o happen w il l
happen.
b.
.16
T r u s t i n g t o f a t e has never t u rn e d out as well f o r me as
making a d e c i s i o n to t a k e a d e f i n i t e c o u r s e of a c t i o n .
10.
a.
In t h e ca se o f t h e well prepa red s t u d e n t t h e r e is
r a r e l y i f ever such a t h i n g as an u n f a i r t e s t .
b_.
Many times exam q u e s t i o n s te n d to be so u n r e l a t e d to
course work t h a t
st ud y in g i s r e a l l y u s e l e s s .
.24
74
11. a.
Becoming a s u cc e ss i s a m a t t e r o f hard work, luck
has l i t t l e o r nothin g t o do with i t .
Jd.
G e t t t i n g a good j o b depends mainly on being in th e
r i g h t p la c e a t th e r i g h t tim e.
12. a.
.30
The average c i t i z e n can have an i n f l u e n c e in government
decisions.
Jx
This world i s run by t h e few people in power, and t h e r e
is. n o t much t h e l i t t l e guy can do about i t .
13. a.
.27
When I make p l a n s , I am almost c e r t a i n t h a t I can make.
them work.
Jx
I t i s not always wise to plan too f a r ahead because
many t h i n g s t u r n o u t to be a m a t t e r o f good o r bad
f o r t u n e anyhow.
14. a.
b.
15. a.
'.!27
There a r e c e r t a i n peo ple who a r e j u s t no good.
There i s some good in everybody.
Filler
In my case g e t t i n g what I want has l i t t l e o r nothing
to do with lu c k.
' b.
Many times we might j u s t as well deci de what t o do by
flip p in g a coin.
16. ex
Who g e t s t o be t h e boss, o f t e n depends on who was lucky
enough
b.
.29
t o be in
t h e r i g h t p la c e f i r s t .
G et ti n g people to do th e r i g h t t h i n g depends upon
.31
75
is
a b i l i t y , luck has l i t t l e o r nothing t o do with f t .
17. d_.
As f a r as world a f f a i r s a r e concerned, most of us a re
t h e v i c t i m s o f f o r c e s we can n e i t h e r und e rs ta n d , nor
control.
b.
.36
By t a k i n g an a c t i v e p a r t in p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l
a f f a i r s t h e people can c o n tr o l world e v e n t s .
18. cu
Most people d o n ' t r e a l i z e t h e e x t e n t to which t h e i r
l i v e s a r e c o n t r o l l e d by a c c i d e n t a l ha ppen in gs.
b.
19. a.
b.
20; a_.
.31
There r e a l l y i s no such t h i n g as " l u c k " .
One should always be w i l l i n g t o admit m i s t a k e s .
I t i s u s u a l l y b e s t to co ver up o n e 's m i s t a k e s .
F iller
I t i s hard t o know whether o r not a person r e a l l y l i k e s
you.
b.
.27
How many f r i e n d s you have depends on how n i c e a person
you a r e .
21. s_.
In t h e long run t h e bad t h i n g s t h a t happen to us a r e
balanced by t h e good o n e s .
b.
.15
Most m i s f o r t u n e s a re t h e r e s u l t of l a c k o f a b i l i t y ,
ig noranc e, l a z i n e s s , o r a l l t h r e e .
22. a.
With enough e f f o r t we can wipe out p o l i t i c a l c o r r u p t i o n ,
ju
I t i s d i f f i c u l t f o r people to have much c o n t r o l over t h e
t h i n g s p o l i t i c i a n s do in o f f i c e .
.23
76
23. j u
Sometimes I c a n ' t underst and how.te ach ers a r r i v e in th e
grades th e y g i v e .
hr.
-
.26
There i s a d i r e c t co nnec tio n between how hard I study
and t h e gra de s I get..
24. a.
A good l e a d e r ex pec ts people to deci de f o r themselves ■
what th e y should do.
b.
A good l e a d e r makes i t c l e a r to everybody what t h e i r
•■j o b s a r e .
25. cu
Filler
Many time s I f e e l t h a t I have l i t t l e i n f l u e n c e over
t h e t h i n g s t h a t happen t o me.
b.
.48
I t i s i m p o s si b le f o r me t o b e l i e v e t h a t chance o r luck
plays an im p o r ta n t r o l e in my l i f e .
26. a.
b.
People a r e l o n e l y because t h e y d o n ' t t r y t o be f r i e n d l y ,
T h e r e ' s n o t much use in t r y i n g too hard to p l e a s e
p e opl e, i f t h e y l i k e you, t h e y l i k e you.
27. a.
b.
28. a.
b.
.20
There i s too much emphasis on a t h l e t i c s in high school.
Team s p o r t s a r e an e x c e l l e n t way to b u i l d c h a r a c t e r . F i l l e r
What happens t o me i s my own doing.
Sometimes I f e e l t h a t I d o n ' t have enough co ntro l over
t h e d i r e c t i o n my l i f e i s t a k i n g .
.
.24
29. a_.
Most-of t h e time I c a n ' t underst and why p o l i t i c i a n s
behave t h e way th e y do.
b.
'
"
,11'
In t h e long run t h e peop le a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r bad
government on a n a t i o n a l as well as on a l o c a l l e v e l .
Note:
Score i s t h e t o t a l number o f u n d e r l i n e d choices ( i . e . » e x t e r ­
nal items e n d o r s e d ) .
R o t t e r ' s I n t e r n a l - E x t e r n a l Locus o f Control Sc a le ( R o t t e r 1966)
i s r e p r i n t e d here with p e rm is s i o n .
Requests t o use or c i t e p o r t i o n s
o f t h e s c a l e should be d i r e c t e d t o t h e a u t h o r and p u b l i s h e r o f s c a l e .
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