Parental Psychological Control and Identity: The Roles of Warmth, Gender, and Ethnicity

Abstract

This study examined the moderating roles of parental warmth, gender, and ethnicity on the association between each parent’s psychological control and emerging adults’ identity development among a sample of college students. A total of 678 Asian-American or European-American undergraduates completed self-reported questionnaires assessing variables of interest. Psychological control by mothers and fathers was associated negatively with identity commitment. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that maternal psychological control was related negatively to identity commitment when parental warmth levels were higher, but not when warmth levels were lower. Additionally, paternal psychological control negatively predicted identity commitment when warmth levels were higher for emerging-adult women only. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for the field by placing emphasis upon the role of parental warmth and emerging adults’ gender on the relation between parental psychological control and emerging adults’ identity development.