Relationship of family background variables to locus of control in the elderly.

The present study sought to determine how family variables are related to locus of control, under the hypothesis that a larger and more cohesive family would provide greater reinforcement for the elderly person's actions. Two hundred elderly aged 60 to 90 were interviewed at home and given Rotter's I-E scale. After removing effects of age and socioeconomic status, in a regression analysis, number of living brothers, sibling cohesiveness, and child cohesiveness accounted for 8% of variance in locus of control, with cohesiveness related to greater internality.