Locus of control and helplessness: gender differences among bereaved parents.

Abstract

This study investigated locus of control (LC) and hopelessness (H) among 25 pairs of bereaved parents, who lost their children in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and 25 pairs of demographically matched non-bereaved parents (mean age 53). Four of the 5 hypotheses were supported by results. LC was significantly more external and H was significantly lower among bereaved parents than among the control group. In both groups, mothers demonstrated significantly more external LC and higher H than did fathers. The bereaved mothers were significantly more externally controlled and hopeless than any other subgroup. No significant correlation was found between LC and H, either in the sample as a whole or in its subgroups, contrary to the hypothesized relation. The different effects of reaction to bereavement on men and women, as emerging from the results, are discussed in the light of gender-role socialization.