RELATIONSHIP OF HIGH-SCHOOL SENIORS PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND CONTROL TO SENIORS LOCUS OF CONTROL

There are competing theories on the effects of parental involvement an d control on adolescent development. Each theory holds implications fo r parents, adolescents, and counselors working with parents and adoles cents. Using a national data set, this study sought to support or disc onfirm theory and research regarding parental involvement with and con trol over various aspects of high-school seniors' lives. Findings supp ort the contention that parental involvement and parental control are conditional on one another in predicting adolescents' locus of control . From high-school seniors' perspectives, parental control with parent al involvement was related to internal locus of control, whereas contr ol without involvement was related to external locus of control.