engleski

Personal control of development: some correlates, sex and age differences

In the context of some personal control (mastery) theories (e.g. Heckhausen and Schulz, 1995, Gutman, 1964), primary, secondary and tertiary personal control of development were investigated among subjects on the three transitional periods of life (Levinson, 1978). Results confirmed the expectation that primary control decrease while secondary control increase with age. Tertiary control was the same in all transitional periods. Sex differences in three kind of control were not significant. The best predictors of primary control were optimism, self-esteem and loneliness. There were some differences in their contributions in early, middle and late period of transition (e.g. the best predictors in early and middle adult age were optimism but in elderly that were self-esteem and loneliness). Secondary control was predicted with pessimism, optimism and self-esteem, in theoretically expected ways. The best predictors of tertiary control in early period of transition were optimism, pessimism and self-esteem, in middle age that were optimism, pessimism and loneliness, and in elderly that were pessimism and solitude.

Personal control; sex differences; age differences; loneliness; solitude

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