Associations between parental control and children's overt and relational aggression

Abstract

The present study examined specialized associations between parental control and child aggression in a sample of 600 8- to 10-years old children. Parental control dimensions and aggression subtypes were assessed using multiple informants (i.e. children, mothers, fathers, peers, and teachers). In line with expectations, parental physical punishment was positively associated with overt aggression, whereas parental psychological control was positively associated with relational aggression in both girls and boys. In addition, this study demonstrated that if both parents employed similar parenting strategies, it appeared to have a cumulative effect on child aggressive behaviour. Associations involving overt aggression were more pronounced for boys than girls, whereas associations involving relational aggression were not moderated by gender. Overall, the present study contributes to an emerging research field by supporting the hypothesis of specialized associations between parental control and child aggression.