This longitudinal study investigated maternal locus of control and the mother's perceptions of relationships with her husband, her own mother, her child, her child's teacher, and her child's health care provider. To determine whether the mother's behavior is related to generalized expectancies, her locus of control was also correlated with interviewer ratings of her cooperativeness during the interview. Subjects were 321 low income women whose infants were normal at birth; 72 percent were black. They were interviewed during the third trimester of pregnancy, at 4 and 12 months postnatally, and during the child's kindergarten year. Rating scales of subjects' locus of control, perceptions of family members, and cooperativeness were completed during extensive interviews. Reliabilities of these rating scales were computed with Cronbach's alpha. Multiple regression analysis showed several statistically significant relationships between locus of control and other variables. It was concluded that experiences of autonomy and control in relationships with significant family members generalize as internal versus external locus of control. In subsequent relationships these experiences are externalized through perceptions of others and behavior with others. (CB)