The Role of Locus of Control in End-of-Life Decisions and Grief Experience Among Companion Animal Owners

Companion animal end-of-life (EoL) decision-making represents a high-stakes process for owners acting as surrogate decision-makers. However, the psychological factors underlying these decisions and their relationships with subsequent grief remain insufficiently understood. This study, conducted in Hong Kong, used purposive sampling and a quantitative cross-sectional design to collect data via an online questionnaire from 205 dog and cat owners who had experienced companion animal loss within the past 5 years. This study examined locus of control (LOC), a personality construct reflecting generalized beliefs about personal agency, in the context of companion animal bereavement and EoL decision-making. Measures including Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance LOC scales, the Pet Bereavement Questionnaire (PBQ), and the adapted Adult Attitude to Grief (AAG) scale were used to assess LOC orientations and bereavement responses. No detectable LOC difference emerged between the euthanasia group and the natural death group in this sample, possibly reflecting the small euthanasia subgroup and situational constraints of veterinary recommendations, and cultural norms advocating for natural death (78% prevalence) overshadowing the belief in dispositional personal agency. Nevertheless, external LOC orientations emerged as a potential risk factor, showing significant positive correlations with grief intensity in the PBQ and overwhelmed response in the AAG. Internal LOC was positively correlated with resilient grief response in the AAG, but this association should be interpreted as exploratory in this sample due to the low internal consistency of the AAG Resilient subscale. Hierarchical regression results indicated that external LOC (Chance) was the only significant positive predictor of grief intensity. The findings suggest that LOC may be more relevant to companion animal post-loss grief experience than to the EoL decision itself. External LOC represents a potential vulnerability factor in companion animal-related grief, but further research with more robust measurements is needed before specific intervention recommendations can be made.