A domain-specific approach to adolescent reporting of parental control

Abstract

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a newly developed adolescent-reported domain-specific measure of parental behavioral control. In addition, this study examined the relationships between domains of perceived behavioral control and adolescent problem behaviors and tested whether psychological control played a mediating role in these associations. Participants were 267 students, ranging in age from 9 to 16 years. Both high maternal and paternal use of behavioral control in the friendship domain were positively associated with externalizing behaviors. Low paternal use of control in the prudential and multifaceted domains was also positively associated with externalizing behaviors. Psychological control mediated the association between behavioral control in the friendship domain and externalizing behaviors, suggesting a potential overlap between perceptions of parental behavioral and psychological control. These findings highlight the need to study adolescents' perceptions of parental control in specific domains to fully understand its relationship with adolescent outcomes.