Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
3-1987
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Psychology
Major Professor
Anne McIntyre
Committee Members
John Malone, Harold Fine, Roger Nooe
Abstract
Relatively few studies have addressed the impact of foster care experience on children. A recent study by Mclntyre, Lounsbury, Berntson & Steel (in press) indentified a pattern of responses to the Tasks of Emotional Development (TED) Test which was unique to foster children. This pattern of responses was interpreted as reflecting a "reliance upon and exploitation of externally determined events". The similarity of this pattern of TED responses to the personality constructs of locus of control (Rotter, 1966) learned helplessness (Seligman, 1976) and effectance motivation (White, 1959) was noted by the authors of the TED study.
The present study investigated the relationship between two foster care experience variables (total time in care and number of placements) and the three personality constructs discussed above. The Children's Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale was used to assess locus of control orientation. An instrumental response task previously used in a number of studies of learned helplessness was used as a measure of that construct. A game choice situation was used as a measure of effectance motivation. All three measures were administered to 62 foster children, ages 9-18.
A significant correlation was found between external locus of control and increasing number of foster placements. Tendencies toward significance were found between increasing number of placements and some of the learned helplessness submeasures. The unusual response of 21 of the children to the learned helplessness task compromised the use of statistics conventionally employed for measures of performance on this task, and this behavior was interpreted as reflecting extreme passivity. No other significant correlations were found.
The results of the study were interpreted as consonant with those of Mclntyre and her associates (in press). Implications for social service policy were discussed in terms of promoting the development of an internal locus of control orientation.
Recommended Citation
Dennis, Deborah L., "Foster care experience in relation to locus of control, learned helplessness, and effectance motivation. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1987.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/12041