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Belief in Personal Control Among Low-Income African American, Puerto Rican, and European American Single Mothers

Department of Social Work, Ohio University, Morton Hall 416, Athens, OH 45701sparksa{at}ohio.edu

N. Andrew Peterson

Iowa Prevention Research Center, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, E238 GH, Iowa City, IA 52242andrew-peterson{at}uiowa.edu

Kathleen Tangenberg

School of Social Work, University of Iowa, 308 North Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242kathleen-tangenberg{at}uiowa.edu

This study examined belief in personal control among low-income single mothers (African American, Puerto Rican, and European American) in an economically distressed region in the Northeast, who were recruited from child care centers and community programs. A factor analysis of the Belief in Personal Control Scale supported the three hypothesized subscales of the measure—God-mediated control, external control, and exaggerated personal control. The results indicate that African American women had stronger God-mediated control and weaker external control than did European American women and that Puerto Rican women had greater external control and weaker exaggerated personal control than did European American women. They suggest that an instrument that measures belief in personal control can contribute to efforts to understand low-income single mothers’ perceptions of their situations and that religious faith should be further explored as a key component of belief in personal control.

Key Words: belief in personal control • empowerment • low-income single mothers • religious faith

Affilia, Vol. 20, No. 4, 401-415 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0886109905279872


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