The Relationship among Paternal and Maternal Psychological Control, Self-Esteem, and Indecisiveness across Adolescent Genders

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among adolescents’ indecisiveness, adolescents’ self-esteem, and maternal and paternal psychological control by focusing on the differences in the relationship among these variables across adolescent genders. A total of 381 Italian adolescents (215 boys and 166 girls), aged from 13 to 17 years, completed self-report measures of parental psychological control, self-esteem and indecisiveness. Since previous studies have highlighted indirect relations between family characteristics and indecisiveness, structural equation modeling (SEM) methods were used for testing self-esteem as a possible mediator. In particular, a multiple group analysis (based on adolescent genders) was conducted to determine if the resultant model differed for boys and girls. The results showed that self-esteem acted as mediator of the relation between paternal psychological control and boys’ indecisiveness. Moreover, this study shows how maternal and paternal psychological control is differently related to children’s development during early adolescence, emphasizing the important relationship between paternal psychological control and boys’ indecisiveness.