Locus of Control and Decision to Abort

Abstract

The relationship of locus of control to deciding on an abortion was investigated. Rotter's Scale was given to 118 women immediately prior to abortion, 2 wk., and 3 mo. following the abortion. Subjects' locus of control scores were compared across the three times, and the abortion group's pretest scores were compared with those of a nonpregnant control group. As hypothesized, the aborting group scored significantly more internal than the general population but no differences in locus of control were found across the three times. The length of delay in deciding to abort an unwanted pregnancy following confirmation was also assessed. Women seeking first-trimester abortions were divided into internal and external groups on the Rotter Locus of Control Scale and the lengths of delay were compared. The hypothesis that external scorers would delay the decision longer than internal ones was confirmed. The results confirm characteristics of the locus of control construct and add information about personality characteristics of women undergoing abortion.