An exploration of the independent contributions of genetics, shared environment, specific environment, and adult roles and statuses on perceived control

"Perceived control" describes individuals' generalized beliefs about their abilities to influence their life courses and circumstances. Most research concerning this construct has viewed perceived control as a developmentally acquired stable personality characteristic. Others argue that perceived co ntrol is determined by current social status, with more privileged social p ositions contributing to increased control over life circumstances. This study analyzes data from the Virginia Twin Registry to determine the i ndependent contributions of genetics, shared environment, and nonshared env ironment, including adult roles and statuses, on women's perceived control. Findings from latent variable twin models suggest that there are modest bu t significant effects of shared environment and genetics on perceived contr ol but that the majority of individual variation in perceived control is du e to nonshared environmental factors on perceived control among adult women . Analyses of measured individual-level variables indicate significant effe cts from education, income, earnings, marital quality, age, and single-pare nt status.