Maternal Overcontrol Research Articles

The role of parental overcontrol in psychological distress of vulnerable narcissists: The burden of shame

Psychological distress can have a wide range of negative consequences, and the central role played by parental overcontrol in its occurrence has been widely demonstrated. It is also well-established that narcissistic vulnerability results from parental overcontrol and is characterized by intense shame experiences, which, in turn, favors psychological distress. However, no studies have examined these variables simultaneously, integrating them in a theoretical-based model. Therefore, this study aims to build on previous evidence by exploring whether parental overcontrol can lead to the onset of depression, anxiety and stress through the serial mediating role of narcissistic vulnerability and shame proneness. A convenience sample of 643 participants (68%F; Mage = 29.87 ± 13.00) was recruited. The assessed structural model produced adequate fit to the data. Results showed the significant role played by maternal – but not paternal – overcontrol in the onset of vulnerable narcissistic traits and that shame proneness, particularly bodily shame, fosters the three facets of psychological distress in such individuals. Clinicians dealing with individuals with high vulnerable traits could help them reduce their distress by working on the level of narratives relating to experiences of maternal overcontrol perceived during childhood and feelings of shame expressed, especially when connected to one's own body.

Is parental overcontrol a specific form of child maltreatment? Insights from a resting state EEG connectivity study

IntroductionRecent studies suggest that parental overcontrol could be considered a specific form of childhood trauma (CT). Although previous research has shown that CT alters the functional and structural architecture of large-scale networks in the brain, the neural basis associated with parental overcontrol has not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between parental overcontrol and electroencephalography (EEG) triple network (TN) functional connectivity during the resting state (RS) condition in a non-clinical sample (N = 71; 39 females, mean age 23.94 ± 5.89 SD). MethodsEEG was recorded during 5 min of RS with eyes closed. All participants were asked to self-report maternal and paternal overcontrol, CT and general psychopathology. All EEG analyses were performed using the exact low-resolution electromagnetic tomography software (eLORETA). ResultsOur results showed a significant positive correlation between maternal overcontrol and theta connectivity between the salience network and the central executive network. This connectivity pattern was independently associated with maternal overcontrol even when controlling for relevant confounding variables, including the severity of CT and the general level of psychopathology. This neurophysiological pattern may reflect a predisposition to detect and respond to potentially threatening stimuli in the environment, which is typically associated with excessive overcontrol. ConclusionsOur findings support the hypothesis that parental overcontrol should be considered a form of CT in all respects independent of the forms traditionally studied in the literature (i.e., emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and physical and emotional neglect).

Maternal Overcontrol and Young Children’s Internalizing Problems in China: The Roles of Social Competence and Teacher-Child Conflict

ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study aimed to explore the mediating role of social competence and the moderating role of teacher-child conflict in the relation between maternal overcontrol and Chinese preschooler’s internalizing problems. Participants were 216 children aged 3–4 years, from two kindergartens in Shanghai, China. Mothers completed the observation of mother-child interaction task. Teachers completed the assessment of children’s social competence, internalizing problems, and teacher-child conflict. Result of mediation showed that maternal overcontrol indirectly predicted child internalizing problems through its negative association with child social competence. Moderated mediation results show that teacher – child conflict moderated the relation between maternal overcontrol and child social competence. Moreover, lower levels of teacher-student conflict can buffer the negative impact of maternal overcontrol on child social competence, and thus reduce children’s internalizing problems. Practice or Policy: Maternal overcontrol as a negative parenting is related to children’s maladjustment in current China. Reducing teacher-child conflict might alleviate the negative effects of maternal overcontrol on child social adjustment.

Multidimensional Discrimination Distress, Controlling Parenting, and Parent-Adolescent Attachment Relationships: Racial/Ethnic Differences.

Parents have multifaceted identities, across dimensions like race/ethnicity, gender, and class, which shape their experience of discrimination. However, little is known about how distress from such multidimensional discrimination influences parenting behavior and parent-adolescent relationships. We tested associations between mothers' multidimensional discrimination distress and parental control (overcontrol and conditional regard) and daughters' attachment, among 82 African American (AA), Hispanic/Latina (HL), and non-Hispanic White (NHW) mother-adolescent daughter dyads in the United States. Additionally, we examined whether these associations vary by race/ethnicity. Mothers reported their distress due to multidimensional discrimination and adolescents reported mothers' overcontrol, mothers' conditional regard, and adolescents' attachment to mothers. Across racial/ethnic groups, more multidimensional discrimination distress was associated with more maternal overcontrol. Additionally, racial/ethnic groups differed in associations between discrimination, maternal conditional regard, and adolescent attachment, such that AA mothers were buffered from the deleterious effects of discrimination on conditional regard and adolescent attachment. HL mothers were buffered from effects on adolescent attachment and conditional regard for anger expression, but not fear expression. Findings suggest that stigmatized racial/ethnic groups may rely on adaptive cultural practices to parent effectively in the face of multidimensional discrimination distress, but these resources may not be available to NHW mothers.

Elucidating the Roles of Maternal Overcontrol and Warmth in the Development of Childhood Anxiety and Depression: A Moderated Mediation Framework.

Studies have linked childhood anxiety and depression with parenting characterized by high control and low warmth. However, few studies have examined how control and warmth may work together to influence internalizing symptoms in children. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the moderating effect of warmth on the relationship between overcontrol and anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as whether negative thoughts serve as a mediator of these pathways. A total of 182 fourth and fifth grade children completed measures of maternal parenting behavior, negative thoughts, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results showed an interaction between overcontrol and warmth for depressive but not anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, low warmth increased the strength of the mediating relationship between overcontrol and depression via thoughts of personal failure. Findings may signal a need for early interventions to address parenting behaviors, such as controlling behaviors, in parents of children at risk for internalizing difficulties.

Anxious Solitude, Reciprocated Friendships with Peers, and Maternal Overcontrol from Third through Seventh Grade: A Transactional Model.

Guided by a Transactional Model of anxious solitude development, we tested friend and maternal influences on continuity and change in youth anxious solitude from 3rd through 7th grade, as well as the influence of youth anxious solitude on decreased friendship participation and increased maternal overcontrol over time. Participants were 230 American youth (57% girls) selected for longitudinal study from a public-school screening sample (n = 688). Peers reported on anxious solitude, both peers and youth reported on reciprocated friendship, and youth reported on their mother’s overcontrol annually. Stability and incremental change in youth, friend, and maternal factors were tested in an autoregressive cross-lagged panel analytic model. Having few mutual friendships predicted incremental increase in youth anxious solitude in mid-elementary school, then youth anxious solitude predicted the loss of friendships after the middle school transition. Additionally, youth anxious solitude in third grade evoked increased maternal overcontrol in fourth grade, but the reverse direction of effect was not supported. Youth’s participation in few friendships also evoked mothers’ overcontrol, which exacerbated their child’s loss of friendships in elementary school. Taken together, having few mutual friends contributed to youth anxious solitude and maternal overcontrol, and subsequently these factors further exacerbated youth’s loss of friendships.

Relations Among Anxious Solitude, Peer Exclusion, and Maternal Overcontrol from 3rd Through 7th Grade: Peer Effects on Youth, Youth Evocative Effects on Mothering, and the Indirect Effect of Peers on Mothering via Youth.

This study evaluated a transactional model of youth anxious solitude and peer and maternal relations from 3rd through 7th grade. Participants were 230 American youth (57% girls) selected for longitudinal study from a screening sample recruited from public schools (N = 688). Peers reported on anxious solitude and peer exclusion and youth reported on their mother's overcontrol annually. In an autoregressive cross-lagged panel analytic model peer exclusion predicted incremental increases in anxious solitude during elementary school and after the middle school transition. Additionally, anxious solitude evoked incremental increases in maternal overcontrol during elementary school. Finally, anxious solitude in 4th grade mediated the positive indirect relation between peer exclusion in 3rd grade and maternal overcontrol in 5th grade. These results suggests that peer relations can indirectly effect mothering via increased youth anxious solitude over time. Taken together, evidence supports a Transactional Model of anxious solitude development. Additionally, consistent with previous evidence, elevated youth anxious solitude at the end of elementary school in 5th grade predicted decreased peer exclusion after the middle school transition in 6th grade when youth experience a fresh start with peer relations. Nonetheless, youth (especially girls) demonstrated greater year-to-year stability in anxious solitude across the first two years of middle school than in the last three years of elementary school.

Mother-child adrenocortical synchrony: Roles of maternal overcontrol and child developmental phase.

An increasing amount of empirical attention is focused on adrenocortical synchrony as an index of biobehavioral co-regulation between parent and child in the context of early child development. Working with an ethnically diverse community sample of children (N=99, 50.5% male, ages 9-12), we collected saliva samples from mother-child dyads prior to and after a laboratory-based performance challenge task, and tested whether maternal overcontrol and child age moderated dyadic synchrony in cortisol. Results revealed that cortisol levels between mothers and children were significantly positively correlated at pretask for dyads with mean age and older children only, at 25-min post-task for all dyads, and at 45-min post-task for all dyads. Higher overcontrol/older child dyads exhibited a unique pattern of cortisol synchrony wherein at pretask, mother-child levels had the strongest positive correlation, whereas at 25 and 45min, mother-child cortisol levels were significantly inversely correlated. These findings contribute to theory and research on parent-child relationships by examining parenting behavior, developmental stage, and adrenocortical synchrony in tandem.

Parental overcontrol x OPRM1 genotype interaction predicts school-aged children’s sympathetic nervous system activation in response to performance challenge

Parental overcontrol (OC), the excessive regulation of a child’s behavior, cognition, and emotion, is associated with the development of child anxiety. While studies have shown that genetic factors may increase sensitivity to stress, genetic vulnerability to parental OC has not been examined in anxiety etiology. A functional polymorphism in the mu opioid receptor OPRM1 (A118G, rs1799971) has been shown to impact stress reactivity. Using a community sample of children (N = 85, 9–12 years old), we examined the main and interactive effects of maternal OC and child OPRM1 genotype in predicting children’s sympathetic nervous system reactivity during a performance stressor. Neither OC nor genotype predicted children’s electrodermal activity (EDA); however, the interaction between OC and child genotype significantly predicted stress reactivity, as indexed by EDA, during the challenging task. Among children with the minor G-allele, higher maternal OC was associated with higher reactivity. In A homozygotes, maternal OC was not associated with EDA, suggesting a diathesis-stress pattern of gene x environment interaction. We discuss implications for anxiety etiology and intervention.

Children's and mothers' cardiovascular reactivity to a standardized laboratory stressor: Unique relations with maternal anxiety and overcontrol.

Research documents bidirectional associations between parental overcontrol (OC) and children's anxiety; OC may place children at risk for anxiety and also may occur in response to children's requests for help. However, to date no studies have examined children's or parents' in-the-moment emotional responses to OC. Using a community sample of mothers and school-age children, we examine the individual and interactive influences of maternal OC, maternal anxiety, children's help-seeking, and children's anxiety in predicting physiological reactivity in response to a stressor faced by children and observed by mothers, predicting that for children of higher anxiety mothers, higher OC will be associated with increases in reactivity (decreases in respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]), whereas for higher anxiety mothers themselves, engaging in OC will be associated with reductions in physiological reactivity (decreases in heart rate). Multilevel modeling suggested that for children of higher anxiety mothers, greater peak OC is associated with greater reductions in RSA (increases in reactivity) after the onset of OC. In contrast, for higher anxiety mothers themselves, greater peak OC was linked with attenuations in heart rate. Effects held when controlling for children's anxiety and help-seeking, and no pattern of effects was observed with analyses in which children's help-seeking was the predictor or children's anxiety was the moderator, suggesting that in this case, physiological reactivity is uniquely associated with the interaction between maternal OC and anxiety. Among mothers with higher anxiety, OC may serve a regulatory function, reducing physiological reactivity, while exacerbating children's reactivity. (PsycINFO Database Record

Parental bonding and hoarding in obsessive–compulsive disorder

BackgroundHoarding behavior may indicate a clinically and possibly etiologically distinct subtype of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Empirical evidence supports a relationship between hoarding and emotional over-attachment to objects. However, little is known about the relationship between hoarding and parental attachment in OCD. MethodThe study sample included 894 adults diagnosed with DSM-IV OCD who had participated in family and genetic studies of OCD. Participants were assessed for Axis I disorders, personality disorders, and general personality dimensions. The Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) was used to assess dimensions of perceived parental rearing (care, overprotection, and control). We compared parental PBI scores in the 334 hoarding and 560 non-hoarding participants, separately in men and women. We used logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between parenting scores and hoarding in women, adjusting for other clinical features associated with hoarding. ResultsIn men, there were no significant differences between hoarding and non-hoarding groups in maternal or paternal parenting scores. In women, the hoarding group had a lower mean score on maternal care (23.4 vs. 25.7, p<0.01); a higher mean score on maternal protection (9.4 vs. 7.7, p<0.001); and a higher mean score on maternal control (7.0 vs. 6.2, p<0.05), compared to the non-hoarding group. The magnitude of the relationships between maternal bonding dimensions and hoarding in women did not change after adjustment for other clinical features. Women who reported low maternal care/high maternal protection had significantly greater odds of hoarding compared to women with high maternal care/low maternal protection (OR=2.54, 95% CI=1.60–4.02, p<0.001). ConclusionsPerceived poor maternal care, maternal overprotection, and maternal overcontrol are associated with hoarding in women with OCD. Parenting dimensions are not related to hoarding in men. These findings provide further support for a hoarding subtype of OCD and for sex-specific differences in etiologic pathways for hoarding in OCD.

Is it About Me, You, or Us? Stress Reactivity Correlates of Discrepancies in We-Talk Among Parents and Preadolescent Children.

An emerging literature suggests that not only do parent and child perceptions of parent-child relationship quality independently predict children's adjustment, but also that the discrepancy between parent and child perceptions of the relationship also carries predictive power. In the current study, we examine discrepancies in mother and children's we-talk, which is thought to reveal the degree to which members of a dyad conceive of problems affecting just one of the members as shared. We anticipate that discrepancies in which the mother expresses a greater sense of we-ness than the child would be particularly toxic during this developmental phase, when youth's strivings for independence ought to near their apex. Using an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of school-aged children and their mothers (N=106, 49.1% female; 43% Non-Hispanic White, 21% African American, 21% Hispanic, 10% Asian, and 5% of another ethnic category or mixed race; 48% reported an annual income of <$60,000), we expose children to a standardized failure task that their mothers observe and then interview both members of the dyad regarding the task-we-talk is derived from these interviews. We examine the discrepancy between child and mother we-talk as a predictor of children's cortisol reactivity and mothers' behavioral overcontrol during the failure task. We also examine whether the discrepancy in mother-child we-talk predicts children's trait rumination. The interaction between child and mother we-talk was significantly associated with all three outcomes. Children's cortisol reactivity and rumination were highest when mothers used high and children used low levels of we-talk. A three-way interaction of children's we-talk, mothers' we-talk and child age emerged, suggesting that the association of discrepancies in we-talk with maternal overcontrol depended on child age, with significant effects emerging among older children. We discuss our results in terms of their implications for preadolescent development and emotion regulation.

Relational closeness moderates the association between maternal overcontrol and children's depressive symptoms.

Though numerous studies have examined the relationship between parental overcontrol (OC) and child anxiety, few have examined the association between OC and children's depressive symptoms. However, there are conceptual reasons to believe that overcontrolling parenting may also be relevant to depressive symptomatology, as well as to anticipate that other aspects of the parent-child relationship may moderate the association between the two. In this study we examine the association between self-reported maternal OC and child depressive symptoms, as moderated by multiple indicators of closeness within the parent-child relationship. An ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of children (N = 106, M(age) = 10.27 years) and their mothers participated in this cross-sectional study. Mothers reported on their overcontrolling parenting and children reported on their depressive symptoms. Children and mothers participated in structured interviews that were analyzed for we-talk, a behavioral measure of closeness; they also self-reported their closeness. Results indicated that child we-talk, child self-reported closeness, and maternal we-talk moderated the association between maternal OC and child depressive symptoms, such that OC and depressive symptoms were positively associated only at low levels of relational closeness. The results provide initial evidence for an association between parental OC and child depressive symptoms, and point to the need for more research on the role of children's perceptions in moderating the association between parenting and child depressive symptoms.

Supplemental Material for Relational Closeness Moderates the Association Between Maternal Overcontrol and Children’s Depressive Symptoms

Supplemental Material for Relational Closeness Moderates the Association Between Maternal Overcontrol and Children’s Depressive Symptoms

Cortisol secretion and change in sleep problems in early childhood: Moderation by maternal overcontrol

Childhood sleep problems are prevalent and relate to a wide range of negative psychological outcomes. However, it remains unclear how biological processes, such as HPA activity, may predict sleep problems over time in childhood in the context of certain parenting environments. Fifty-one mothers and their 18–20 month-old toddlers participated in a short-term longitudinal study assessing how shared variance among morning levels, diurnal change, and nocturnal change in toddlers’ cortisol secretion predicted change in sleep problems in the context of maternal overprotection and critical control. A composite characterized by low variability in, and, to a lesser extent, high morning values of cortisol, predicted increasing sleep problems from age 2 to age 3 when mothers reported high critical control. Results suggest value in assessing shared variance among different indices of cortisol secretion patterns and the interaction between cortisol and the environment in predicting sleep problems in early childhood.

Relations of Anxiety Sensitivity, Control Beliefs, and Maternal Over-Control to Fears in Clinic-Referred Children with Specific Phobia.

The relations of fear to anxiety sensitivity, control beliefs, and maternal overprotection were examined in 126 7- to 13-year-old clinically referred children with specific phobias. Results indicated that anxiety sensitivity and control beliefs were significant predictors of children's fear levels, accounting for approximately 48% of the total variance. Unexpectedly, age, gender, and maternal overprotection did not emerge as significant predictors of fear in the overall sample. In subsequent analyses, anxiety sensitivity was found to be a consistent, significant predictor for both girls and boys, for both younger and older children, and for children with and without an additional anxiety disorder diagnosis. Control beliefs were only a significant predictor for girls, younger children, and children with an additional anxiety diagnosis. Maternal overprotection was not a significant predictor for any group. Children with an additional anxiety disorder diagnosis had higher levels of fear, anxiety sensitivity, and maternal overprotection, as well as lower levels of control beliefs than the non-additional anxiety disorder subgroup. Future directions and clinical implications are explored.

Parental overcontrol as a mechanism explaining the longitudinal association between parent and child anxiety

Although numerous studies have documented the concurrent association between parental overcontrol and child anxiety, few have examined overcontrol for its prospective association with children’s anxiety. In this study we evaluate whether parental overcontrol prospectively predicts children’s anxiety symptoms across the transition to early adolescence (H1), whether parental overcontrol mediates the association between parent and child anxiety (H2), and whether parental overcontrol mediates the association between child avoidant coping and child anxiety (H3). School-aged children (N = 102) and their mothers and fathers completed this two wave study. At Time 1, each family member reported on his/her own anxiety symptoms (children: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children; parents: Symptom Checklist-90 Revised), parents reported on their overcontrolling parenting behavior (USC Parental Overcontrol Scale) and children reported on their avoidant coping (Children’s Coping Strategies Checklist- Revision 1). Children reported on their anxiety symptoms two-and-a-half years later using the same scale. Results indicated that having at least one parent who reported highly overcontrolling parenting was associated with persistent anxiety symptoms across this developmental transition. When both mother and father overcontrol were evaluated in the same models, only maternal overcontrol acted as an indirect effect explaining the prospective associations (H2) between maternal and child anxiety and (H3) between child avoidant coping and child anxiety. Our study provides evidence for the prospective association between parental overcontrol and child anxiety and suggests that maternal overcontrol is a mechanism underlying the association between maternal and child anxiety.

Maternal Over-Control Moderates the Association Between Early Childhood Behavioral Inhibition and Adolescent Social Anxiety Symptoms

Behavioral inhibition (BI) and maternal over-control are early risk factors for later childhood internalizing problems, particularly social anxiety disorder (SAD). Consistently high BI across childhood appears to confer risk for the onset of SAD by adolescence. However, no prior studies have prospectively examined observed maternal over-control as a risk factor for adolescent social anxiety (SA) among children initially selected for BI. The present prospective longitudinal study examines the direct and indirect relations between these early risk factors and adolescent SA symptoms and SAD, using a multi-method approach. The sample consisted of 176 participants initially recruited as infants and assessed for temperamental reactivity to novel stimuli at age 4 months. BI was measured via observations and parent-report across multiple assessments between the ages of 14 months and 7 years. Maternal over-control was assessed observationally during parent-child interaction tasks at 7 years. Adolescents (ages 14-17 years) and parents provided independent reports of adolescent SA symptoms. Results indicated that higher maternal over-control at 7 years predicted higher SA symptoms and lifetime rates of SAD during adolescence. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between consistently high BI and maternal over-control, such that patterns of consistently high BI predicted higher adolescent SA symptoms in the presence of high maternal over-control. High BI across childhood was not significantly associated with adolescent SA symptoms when children experienced low maternal over-control. These findings have the potential to inform prevention and early intervention programs by identifying particularly at-risk youth and specific targets of treatment.

Maternal overcontrol and child anxiety: the mediating role of perceived competence.

Previous research has shown that maternal overcontrol is related to higher levels of child anxiety. It has been theorized, though not empirically tested, that maternal overcontrol decreases child perceived competence and mastery, which increases child anxiety. The present study investigated this theory using a sample of 89 mother-child dyads (children aged 6-13, 84.3% Caucasian, 6.7% African American, and 51.7% male). After statistically controlling for maternal anxiety level, child perceived competence was shown to partially mediate the relationship between maternal overcontrol and child anxiety. Though current findings are based on cross sectional data, they suggest multiple pathways through which maternal overcontrol impacts child anxiety. One pathway, described in theoretical models, posits that greater levels of parental control reduce children's opportunities to acquire appropriate developmental skills, lowering their perceived competence, and thus increasing their anxiety. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Temperamental, Parental, and Contextual Contributors to Early‐emerging Internalizing Problems: A New Integrative Analysis Approach

AbstractThis study evaluated a comprehensive model of factors associated with internalizing problems (IP) in early childhood, hypothesizing direct, mediated, and moderated pathways linking child temperamental inhibition, maternal overcontrol and rejection, and contextual stressors to IP. In a novel approach, three samples were integrated to form a large sample (N = 500) of Canadian children (2–6 years; M = 3.95 years; SD = .80). Items tapping into the same constructs across samples were used to create parallel measures of inhibited temperament, maternal positive, critical, and punitive parenting, maternal negative emotionality, family socioeconomic and structural stressors, and child's IP. Multiple‐groups structural equation modeling indicated that associations were invariant across samples and did not differ for boys and girls. Child inhibition, less positive and more critical parenting, maternal negative emotionality, and family socioeconomic disadvantage were found to have direct associations with IP. In addition, maternal negative emotionality was associated with IP through more critical parenting, and both maternal negative emotionality and socioeconomic stress were associated with IP through less positive parenting. Results highlight the multiple independent and cumulative risk factors for early IP and demonstrate the power of integrating data across developmental studies.