Maternal Psychological Control Research Articles

Parental psychological control and children’s self-esteem: A longitudinal investigation in children with and without oppositional defiant problems

Oppositional defiant problems are among the most prevalent psychological problems among children and adolescents from China and across the world. Still little is understood about how self-esteem, in conjunction with parenting experiences, develops in children with oppositional defiant problems. We addressed this gap of knowledge in a two-year longitudinal study. Specifically, we explored how parental psychological control predicts children’s self-esteem levels over time, and in turn, how children’s self-esteem levels predict parental psychological control. We collected data in Chinese children (ages 8 to 13 at T1) with (N = 224) and without (N = 217) oppositional defiant problems, and tested three-wave cross-lagged panel models. Multigroup analyses showed that the associations between parental psychological control and children’s self-esteem were the same for children with and without oppositional defiant problems. Results for the total sample revealed bi-directional associations between maternal psychological control and children’s self-esteem. Children who perceived more psychological control from their mothers were likely to exhibit lower self-esteem over time, and vice versa, children with lower self-esteem were likely to perceive more maternal psychological control over time. Conversely, a unidirectional paternal effect was observed in father-child dyads. Our findings help understand the parent–child dynamics that shape the psychological development of children with oppositional defiant problems.

Bidirectional associations between maternal homework involvement, adolescents' academic motivation, and school well-being.

This study examined bidirectional associations between mothers' homework involvement (autonomy support and psychological control in homework situations), Finnish adolescents' academic motivation (intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation), and school well-being (school satisfaction, school-related stress) across the transitions to lower and upper secondary school. The sample consisted of Finnish adolescents (n = 841; 457 girls; age 12 at T1) and their mothers (n = 652; T1). The results showed that increased levels of maternal psychological control in Grade 7 predicted adolescents' decreased school satisfaction in Grade 9 but only indirectly via increased amotivation. In turn, adolescents' increased levels of school satisfaction decreased maternal psychological control via increased intrinsic motivation within Grade 9 and the first year of upper secondary education. Taken together, more knowledge and understanding should be provided to mothers to help them to support adolescents' motivation and school well-being in more optimal ways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Confirmatory factor analysis and gender invariance of the Persian version of psychological control scale: association with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems.

The current cross-sectional study aimed to examine the reliability, construct validity, gender invariance and concurrent validity of the psychological control scale-youth self-report (PCS-YSR) among Iranian adolescents. A total of 1,453 high school students (49.2% boys; Mage = 15.48, SD = 0.97), who aged between 14 and 18 years old completed the PCS-YSR and the youth self-report (YSR) scale of behavior problems. Reliability was established using Cronbach's alpha and ordinal alpha for maternal and paternal psychological control. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results supported the original unidimensional model of the PCS-YSR scale for both mother and father forms. Results also revealed that mother and father forms of PCS-YSR were invariant across adolescents' gender. When comparing the mean differences, mothers were more psychologically controlling toward their sons, compared to their daughters. The mother and father forms of PCS-YSR were found to have acceptable concurrent validity through their relationship to internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Overall, our findings supported the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Psychological Control Scale-Youth Self-Report among Iranian adolescents. This scale can be used as an efficient tool for parental psychological control among adolescents in Iran. The negative effect of the intrusive parenting behavior on child' negative outcomes in Iran, irrespective of culture, was shown.

Parent-Child Relationship Buffers the Impact of Maternal Psychological Control on Aggression in Temperamentally Surgent Children.

Children's temperamental surgency is associated with later child behavioral problems. However, the underlying mechanisms linking child surgency and child aggression, such as negative parental control, are relatively understudied. Moreover, the potential protective effect of a close parent-child relationship on these associations remains untested, particularly among non-White families. Participants included 259 Chinese American preschoolers (Mage = 4.5 years, SD = 0.9 years, 50% girls) and their mothers (Mage = 37.9 years, SD = 4.7 years), the present study examined the moderating effects of parent-child relationship quality on the association between mother-rated child surgency and teacher-rated child aggression as mediated by maternal psychological control. Overall, results showed that child surgency was linked positively to maternal psychological control, which, in turn led to higher levels of child aggression six months later, but only when the parent-child relationship quality was less optimal. These findings indicate that psychological control is one underlying mechanism linking child temperament and child maladjustment, and that parent-child relationship quality is an important protective factor. Findings also expand an existing theoretical framework by explicating how these variables are applicable to an Asian American population, suggesting the critical buffering role that parent-child relationship quality plays. The study findings inform efforts to mitigate the potential negative effect of psychological control in reducing childhood aggression.

청소년 자녀를 둔 어머니의 자녀-수반 자기가치감이 자녀에 대한 심리적 통제에 미치는 영향: 자녀 관련 스트레스와 분노의 이중매개효과

청소년 자녀를 둔 어머니의 자녀-수반 자기가치감이 자녀에 대한 심리적 통제에 미치는 영향: 자녀 관련 스트레스와 분노의 이중매개효과

Maternal control and eating styles in children: The mediating role of emotion differentiation.

Introduction: Theoretical accounts and empirical research suggest that mother-child interactions significantly influence the child's eating styles (emotional, external, and restrained eating). However, little or no research has explored the association between maternal psychological control and eating styles and whether other mechanisms may be involved in such association. To address this shortcoming, the present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of difficulties in differentiating emotions between maternal control and eating styles.Methods: Participants were 324 elementary school children (Girls = 172, 53.1%) aged between 8 and 11 years (Mage = 9.13, SD = .89) assessed through self-report measures. Parents provided information about weight and height.Results: Path analysis model showed an acceptable fit to the data (χ2 (3) = 3.966, p = .256; RMSEA = .032; CFI = .990; TLI = .911; SRMR = .018). Difficulties in differentiating emotions significantly mediated the relationship between maternal control and emotional eating (β = -.071, 95%CI [-.094, -.052]; p < .001). The model was invariant across genders.Conclusions: Our findings support the importance of dyadic interaction in enhancing the risk for dysfunctional eating style during infancy, showing that emotion differentiation deficits may be particularly salient in such relationship. Clinical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Comparing youth with and without type 1 diabetes on perceived parenting and peer functioning: a propensity weighting approach.

The premise of this study was to gain more insight into whether type 1 diabetes (T1D) can impact how youth perceive parents and peers. To address limitations of previous observational studies comparing youth with T1D to control youth, propensity weighting was used to mimic a randomized controlled trial. A total of 558 youth with T1D and 426 control youth (14-26y) completed questionnaires on parental responsiveness, psychological control, overprotection, friend support, extreme peer orientation, and a host of background and psychological functioning variables. The groups were statistically weighted to become as comparable as possible except for disease status. The analysis plan and hypotheses were preregistered on the open science framework. Youth with T1D perceived their mothers to be more overprotective, perceived fewer friend support, and were less extremely oriented toward peers than control youth. There were no group differences for paternal overprotection and paternal and maternal responsiveness and psychological control. Mothers of youth with T1D seem at risk to practice overprotective parenting and clinicians could play an important role in making mothers aware of this risk. However, the absence of group differences for the maladaptive parenting dimension of psychological control and adaptive dimension of responsiveness are reassuring and testify to the resilient nature of youth with T1D and their families. Additionally, there is accumulating evidence that T1D could interfere with engaging in supportive friendships.

Maternal psychological control and adolescent adjustment: Sleep as a moderator.

Maternal psychological control has been linked consistently to poorer adjustment for adolescents, however, studies of variability in the association between psychological control and adjustment are rare. Sleep serves crucial bioregulatory functions that promote well-being and protect youths against poor adjustment associated with negative family environments. We hypothesised that the link between maternal psychological control and adolescent maladjustment would be strongest for youths with poorer actigraphy-based sleep. The current study included 245 adolescents (Mage = 15.79 years, 52.2% girls, 33.1% Black/African American and 66.9% White/European American; 43% at or below the poverty line). Adolescents reported on their mothers' psychological control toward them, as well as their internalising and externalising symptoms (aggressive and rule breaking behaviours). Several sleep variables were derived: minutes, onset time, and variability in each parameter over 1 week. For youths with shorter, less consistent sleep (both mean levels and variability in minutes and onset), maternal psychological control was associated with adjustment difficulties, especially externalising symptoms. This association was not significant for youth obtaining longer, more consistent sleep. The results were most evident for variability in sleep minutes and onset as moderators of effects. The findings suggest that longer and more consistent sleep is an important protective factor in the context of more controlling parenting.

Parental control and adolescent internet addiction: the moderating effect of parent-child relationships.

The present study investigated how maternal and paternal controls, including behavioral and psychological controls, predict adolescent Internet addiction, as well as the potential moderating effects of adolescent gender and parent-child relationships on the predictions. Data were collected from 1,974 Chinese adolescents (age range = 14-22; mean = 16.47; SD = 0.87; 1,099 girls) in Guizhou Province, mainland China in November 2021. Internet addiction was measured using the ten-item Internet Addiction Test developed by Kimberly Young, and Parental control and parent-child relationships were measured by the respective subscales derived from the validated Chinese Parent-Child Subsystem Quality Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that after the covariates were statistically controlled, both parents' behavioral controls showed significant negative predictions on adolescent Internet addiction, while their psychological control tended to positively predict Internet addiction among adolescents, although the effect was only marginal. In addition, the impacts of maternal and paternal controls were equal, and such impacts did not vary between sons and daughters. While adolescent gender was not a significant moderator, the parent-child relationship quality significantly moderated the effects of paternal behavioral control, paternal psychological control, and maternal psychological control on adolescents' Internet addiction. Specifically, the prediction of paternal behavioral control was stronger while the effect of paternal and maternal psychological control was weaker among adolescents with a positive father-child relationship than those with a moderate or poor father-child relationship. These findings indicate the protective function of parents' behavioral control and the negative impact of psychological control on the development of adolescent Internet addiction. Further, a positive relationship between the father and the adolescent can strengthen the positive effect of paternal behavioral control and mitigate the negative effects of both parents' psychological controls.

Maternal child-based worth predicts children’s academic contingent self-worth via perceived maternal achievement-oriented psychological control

This study examined the longitudinal associations among maternal child-based worth, perceived maternal achievement-oriented psychological control, and children’s academic contingent self-worth over a one-year period in 274 Chinese children. Results showed that, after the autoregressive effects were controlled, higher levels of maternal child-based worth longitudinally predicted higher levels of perceived maternal achievement-oriented psychological control. Higher levels of perceived maternal achievement-oriented psychological control at an earlier time point were also linked to higher levels of children’s academic contingent self-worth later. However, earlier levels of children’s academic contingent self-worth did not predict their perceptions of maternal psychological control longitudinally. The findings suggest that parents should be aware that their own contingent self-worth may be transferred from one generation to another through maladaptive parenting practice. They are advised not to over-identify with the wins and losses of their children and to consider whether they may have stepped over the autonomy of children inadvertently.

Maternal psychological control and preschoolers’ aggression: The joint moderating roles of temperamental reactivity and gender

Maternal psychological control and preschoolers’ aggression: The joint moderating roles of temperamental reactivity and gender

MZ세대 성인기 자녀가 지각한 모의 심리적 통제가 대인관계문제에 미치는 영향 : 정서표현양가성의 매개효과

The purpose of this study was to check whether maternal psychological control affects the interpersonal problems of adult children, and whether ambivalence over emotional expression mediates the relationship between maternal psychological control and interpersonal problems. The subjects were 282(82 male, 200 female) in their 20-30s. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and SPSS Process Macro. The main research findings were as follow: First, maternal psychological control and ambivalence over emotional expression had direct effect on interpersonal problems. Second, ambivalence over emotional expression significantly mediated the relationship between maternal psychological control and interpersonal problems. Finally, the study’s limits and further discussion were suggested.

How do impostor feelings and general self-efficacy co-explain students’ test-anxiety and academic achievements: The preceding role of maternal psychological control

How do impostor feelings and general self-efficacy co-explain students’ test-anxiety and academic achievements: The preceding role of maternal psychological control

Maternal Psychological Control and Self-esteem in Middle School Students: The Mediating Effect of Academic Efficacy

Using questionnaire survey, the psychological control scale, academic efficacy scale, and self-esteem scale of 774 students in Zhangzhou, Fujian, Qingdao, Shandong. Results found a significant negative correlation with self-esteem and perceived maternal psychological control with academic efficacy;There was a significant positive correlation between academic efficacy and self-esteem Academic efficacy plays a partially mediating role between perceived maternal psychological control and self-esteem.

Adolescent Perceptions of Maternal and Paternal Autonomy Granting and Psychological Control in Predicting Anxiety and Depression

Employing existing adolescent-report measures of perceptions of parenting corresponding to autonomy granting as the promotion of independence (PI), the promotion of volitional functioning (PVF), and psychological control, we observed, amongst 97 adolescents, aged 13–17 years, that perceptions of maternal and paternal PVF were significantly negatively associated with both anxiety and depression, whereas PI was significantly associated with only anxiety (and not depression) for only perceptions of maternal (and not paternal) parenting. Perceptions of both maternal and paternal PVF accounted for unique variance in anxiety beyond that accounted for by PI; only perceptions of maternal (not paternal) PVF accounted for unique variance in depression. Perceptions of maternal and paternal controlling parenting accounted for unique variance in depression but not anxiety, suggesting that adolescent anxiety might be more strongly related to perceived parental PVF and adolescent depression to perceived psychological control. Finally, parenting correlates of PVF, PI, and psychological control differed for mothers and fathers of adolescents.

The longitudinal associations between perceived maternal parenting practices, mother-adolescent relationship quality, and friendship quality.

As adolescents begin to expand their social networks beyond their family, they turn increasingly to their peers for support. Parenting practices present in the parent-child dyad are likely to extend to peer dyads. However, when considering the process involved in the transmission from parenting practices to friendships, the mediating role of parent-child relationships remains unclear. The current study explored the mediating effect of mother-adolescent relationship quality in the association between perceived maternal parenting practices (i.e., autonomy support and psychological control) and friendship quality using a three-wave longitudinal design, and also examined whether adolescents' gender moderates these associations. A sample of 344 Chinese adolescents (12.01 to 15-year-old at Wave 1, M = 13.08, SD = 0.39; 153 boysand 191 girls) filled out questionnaires on perceived maternal parenting practices, mother-adolescent relationship quality, and friendship quality, separately in three waves. Perceived maternal autonomy support was associated with positive friendship quality through positive mother-adolescent relationship quality. However, perceived maternal psychological control was not associated with negative friendship quality. Moreover, marginal gender differences were only found in the associations between autonomy support and positive mother-adolescent relationship quality. These findings demonstrate the spillover effects existed only between autonomy support and positive friendship quality, and highlight the importance of positive mother-adolescent relationship quality when promoting positive friendship quality.

Maternal psychological control and mother-adolescent conflict discussion quality: Different perceptions are key.

Parental psychological control is associated with poor adolescent outcomes, but little research has examined discrepancies between observed and perceived psychological control in predicting conversational outcomes. The present study used a multimethod, multi-informant approach to examine whether independent and joint associations between observer, adolescent, and mother perceptions of maternal psychological control during mother-adolescent conflict discussions were associated with adolescents' and mothers' perceptions of the quality of these conversations. Mother-adolescent dyads (N = 123 dyads) participated in a conflict discussion and subsequently reported on their satisfaction with the process and outcome of the discussion. Mothers' behavior was coded for psychological control and mothers and adolescents separately reported on mothers' psychological control during the discussion. Findings indicate that higher adolescent-perceived psychological control was associated with poorer adolescent- and mother-reported discussion quality controlling for overall relationship discord. Central to our hypotheses, observer, adolescent, and mother perceptions of psychological control significantly interacted with one another to predict discussion quality, though the specific pattern of findings varied across mother- and adolescent-reported discussion quality. Findings suggest that adolescent perceptions of discussion quality are poorest when adolescents attribute psychologically controlling behavior to mothers, particularly when mothers and outside observers report relatively lower levels of psychological control. This study highlights the importance of adolescent perceptions of parents' behavior and of obtaining information about behavior during parent-adolescent conversations from multiple reporters (observers, adolescents, and parents) to develop targeted interventions with parents and adolescents managing conflict. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Development of Maternal Psychological Control in Early Adolescence: Maternal, Youth, and Neighborhood Antecedents

Despite abundant research documenting negative associations between parental psychological control and youth adjustment, little is known about precursors of parental psychological control. The current study evaluated maternal, youth, and neighborhood predictors of changes in maternal psychological control across the transition to adolescence. Mother-youth dyads (N = 211, 50.2% female children; 46.4% Latinx, 17.5% Black, 11.4% white, and 24.7% multiracial) reported on maternal psychological control at youth ages 10 and 12. Controlling for youth ethnicity and race, family income-to-needs, and prior levels of maternal psychological control at age 10, structural equation models showed that maternal problems (i.e., anxiety, alcohol dependence, caregiving helplessness) predicted increases and youth externalizing problems (e.g., attention problems, rule-breaking) predicted decreases in maternal reports of psychological control. Neighborhood risks (i.e., poverty, crime, single-parent households) predicted increases in youth reports of maternal psychological control. Exploratory analyses by gender indicated that neighborhood risks predicted decreases in maternal reports of psychological control for girls, but increases in maternal reports of psychological control for boys. This study identified specific antecedents of maternal psychological control that can be targeted in future intervention efforts to reduce negative parenting to promote positive youth development.

Negative messages from parents and sisters and Latina college students’ body image shame

Using the sociocultural model and risk and resilience theory, we examined the moderating role of Latinas’ family relationship quality on the associations between negative eating and weight messages from fathers, mothers, and sisters, and Latinas’ body image shame. Utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk, we recruited a sample of 195 Latina young adults (Mage = 23.24, range = 18 −25; SD = 1.95; 67.4 % Mexican-origin) who reported retrospectively on negative appearance-related messages from each family member (i.e., fathers, mothers, and sisters), positive (e.g., parental warmth and sibling intimacy) and negative (i.e., parental psychological control and sibling negativity) relationship quality with parents and sisters, and current body image shame. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that negative eating and weight messages from fathers, mothers, and sisters and sibling negativity were positively and significantly associated with Latinas’ body image shame. Further, we found that under conditions of high paternal psychological control but not low, the associations between fathers’ messages and Latinas’ body image shame were strengthened. For mothers, under conditions of low maternal psychological control but not high, the associations between mothers’ messages and Latinas’ body image shame were strengthened. Our findings reveal that family members’ negative comments are harmful for Latinas’ body image.

Marital dissatisfaction, psychological control and parent-child conflict in Chinese families - An actor–partner interdependence model analysis

Although family systems theories highlight the associations of marital quality with parenting practice and parent-child relationship, studies examining individual and inter-spousal linkages of marital dissatisfaction with psychological control and parent-child conflict among Chinese families are almost non-existent. Adopting the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), dyadic interdependence in the associations of marital dissatisfaction with psychological control and parent-child conflict were examined in a sample of 386 Chinese families in Hong Kong. Fathers, mothers and adolescent children were involved in the data collection (Mfather’s age = 48.7; Mmother’s age = 44.7; Mchildren’s age = 14.6; 53.1% of adolescents were boys). Results showed that while father-perceived marital dissatisfaction was positively associated with paternal and maternal psychological control, mother-perceived marital dissatisfaction was not. Moreover, marital dissatisfaction perceived by each parent was linked to greater conflict between their children and the other parent, but it was not associated with his/her own conflict with children. The findings showed that Chinese fathers who perceived greater marital dissatisfaction might spill over their stress and hostility from marital dissatisfaction to practicing paternal psychological control and trigger their spouse to exercise maternal psychological control for their children. Besides, poorer marital satisfaction might be linked to conflictual relationship between their children and their spouse, hence increasing the risk of family triangulation. The present study suggests the importance of adopting a family-based intervention approach in helping Chinese parents facing marital dissatisfaction.