The purpose of this study was to determine a possible relationship between locus of control and socioeconomic status. Past studies have shown that children of higher socioeconomic status have a more internal outlook on life, and children of lower socioeconomic status have a more external outlook. Two groups of fourth graders containing both males and females were involved in the study. One group (n=20) were from a school located in a high socioeconomic area, and the other group (n=40) were from a school located in a lower socioeconomic area. Both groups were given The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control scale, which is a \"yes\" or \"no\" questionnaire geared toward children. A higher score on the scale indicated a more external viewpoint, and a lower score on the scale indicated a more internal viewpoint. The data was analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation-R and an independent samples T-test. They were used to determine whether there existed a positive or negative relationship between socioeconomic status and locus of control and a possible relationship between gender and locus of control. It was found that the scores on the scale differed significantly between schools, but gender was not found to have a significant relationship with locus of control. Specific questions on the scale are discussed, as well as implications for further research.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to determine a possible relationship between locus of control and socioeconomic status. Past studies have shown that children of higher socioeconomic status have a more internal outlook on life, and children of lower socioeconomic status have a more external outlook. Two groups of fourth graders containing both males and females were involved in the study. One group (n=20) were from a school located in a high socioeconomic area, and the other group (n=40) were from a school located in a lower socioeconomic area. Both groups were given The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control scale, which is a "yes" or "no" questionnaire geared toward children. A higher score on the scale indicated a more external viewpoint, and a lower score on the scale indicated a more internal viewpoint. The data was analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation-R and an independent samples T-test. They were used to determine whether there existed a positive or negative relationship between socioeconomic status and locus of control and a possible relationship between gender and locus of control. It was found that the scores on the scale differed significantly between schools, but gender was not found to have a significant relationship with locus of control. Specific questions on the scale are discussed, as well as implications for further research.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Esposito, Allegra Nicole"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in School Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Educational Services and Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2003,"date_issued":"2003-05-06T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2003-05-06T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:13Z","subjects":["Fourth grade (Education); Locus of control; School children--Economic conditions; School children--Social conditions","Educational Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1293","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Esposito, Allegra Nicole"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-05-03T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Services and Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in School Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Fourth grade (Education); Locus of control; School children--Economic conditions; School children--Social conditions","Educational Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1293"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to determine a possible relationship between locus of control and socioeconomic status. Past studies have shown that children of higher socioeconomic status have a more internal outlook on life, and children of lower socioeconomic status have a more external outlook. Two groups of fourth graders containing both males and females were involved in the study. One group (n=20) were from a school located in a high socioeconomic area, and the other group (n=40) were from a school located in a lower socioeconomic area. Both groups were given The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control scale, which is a \"yes\" or \"no\" questionnaire geared toward children. A higher score on the scale indicated a more external viewpoint, and a lower score on the scale indicated a more internal viewpoint. The data was analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation-R and an independent samples T-test. They were used to determine whether there existed a positive or negative relationship between socioeconomic status and locus of control and a possible relationship between gender and locus of control. It was found that the scores on the scale differed significantly between schools, but gender was not found to have a significant relationship with locus of control. Specific questions on the scale are discussed, as well as implications for further research.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Socioeconomic status and locus of control"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"],"dc:creator":["Esposito, Allegra Nicole"],"dc:date.available":["2016-05-03T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to determine a possible relationship between locus of control and socioeconomic status. Past studies have shown that children of higher socioeconomic status have a more internal outlook on life, and children of lower socioeconomic status have a more external outlook. Two groups of fourth graders containing both males and females were involved in the study. One group (n=20) were from a school located in a high socioeconomic area, and the other group (n=40) were from a school located in a lower socioeconomic area. Both groups were given The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control scale, which is a \"yes\" or \"no\" questionnaire geared toward children. A higher score on the scale indicated a more external viewpoint, and a lower score on the scale indicated a more internal viewpoint. The data was analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation-R and an independent samples T-test. They were used to determine whether there existed a positive or negative relationship between socioeconomic status and locus of control and a possible relationship between gender and locus of control. It was found that the scores on the scale differed significantly between schools, but gender was not found to have a significant relationship with locus of control. Specific questions on the scale are discussed, as well as implications for further research.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1293"],"dc:subject":["Fourth grade (Education); Locus of control; School children--Economic conditions; School children--Social conditions","Educational Psychology"],"dc:title":["Socioeconomic status and locus of control"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Services and Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in School Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:13Z"}