Locus of Control and Marital Satisfaction in Long-Term Marriages

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spousal locus-of-control orientation and marital satisfaction. Two competing hypotheses were examined. The similar ity hypothesis states that spouses with similar locus-of-control orientation will be more satisfied with their marriage than will those with dissimilar orientations. The internality hypothesis postulates that couples in which both partners have an internal locus-of-control orientation will be more satisfied than will other couples. The similarity hypothesis was not supported by the results. The data were more consistent with the internality hypothesis, although the interaction effect shows that one's internality is more important than the partner's internal locus of control. Implications of these findings for family practitioners are discussed.