Maternal Psychological Control Research Articles

The Role of Metacognitions in the Association between Children’s Perceptions of Maternal Control and Anxiety

We aimed to bring a developmental perspective to metacognitive theory. The metacognitive model (MCM) was originally developed for adults. However, an increasing number of studies demonstrate the MCM is relevant to child anxiety. Therefore, it is important to understand the origins of anxiety-specific metacognitions. Given the role experiences of controlling parenting play in maintaining and perhaps forming anxious cognitions or a cognitive vulnerability we focused on maternal behavioral and psychological control. Using a cross-sectional design, Danish school children (9–17 years old; N = 1062) rated their levels of anxiety and anxiety-specific metacognitions, and their mothers' controlling behavior. Child-perceived maternal psychological control was positively correlated with each anxiety specific metacognition (positive and negative worry beliefs, cognitive confidence, need to control, and cognitive self-consciousness). Child-perceived autonomy-granting was negatively correlated with all metacognitions except cognitive self-consciousness. Child perceived maternal psychological control was indirectly associated with anxiety via total metacognitions. Child-perceived autonomy-granting, but not psychological control, was directly related to anxiety. Given the differential findings for psychological control and autonomy-granting, we suggest that specific types of parenting behavior may be related to specific elements of (meta-) cognitive vulnerability. Our findings are theoretically important because they propose maternal psychological control is an environmental factor that may play a role in the development of a metacognitive vulnerability related to anxiety. A potential clinical implication of our findings is that metacognitive therapy for children should include a parental component.

Parental Autonomy-Support and Psychological Control in Eating Disorder Patients with and without Binge-Eating/Purging Behavior and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

The current study examines whether autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting are related to the presence/absence of binge-eating/purging behavior and/or non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents with an eating disorder (ED). Fifty-three ED patients completed validated questionnaires assessing perceived maternal and paternal autonomy-supportive and psychologically controlling parenting. A total of 53 mothers and 37 fathers also completed these questionnaires. All patients completed the Self-Injury Questionnaire-Treatment Related to assess non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Results showed that patients with binge-eating purging behaviors experienced more maternal psychological control compared to restrictive patients independently of the presence of NSSI. Paternal psychological control or autonomy support did not differ as a function of ED subtype and presence/absence of NSSI. These results suggest that especially mothers of patients engaging in binge-eating/purging behaviors could benefit from family inter...

The Associations between Perceived Maternal Psychological Control and Academic Performance and Academic Self-Concept in Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs

This study examined the associations between perceived maternal psychological control and adolescent academic functioning in terms of academic performance and academic self-concept. The study also tested the possible mediating role of basic psychological needs to investigate how parental psychological control is related to child academic functioning. A sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 338) completed a self-administered questionnaire on maternal psychological control, academic self-concept, academic performance and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used for data analyses. Findings of this study revealed that Chinese adolescents’ perceptions of maternal psychological control were associated with their academic self-concept, and furthermore this association was mediated by adolescents’ basic psychological needs satisfaction on autonomy, relatedness and competence. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research directions were discussed.

Parenting stressors and young adolescents' depressive symptoms: Does high vagal suppression offer protection?

Grounded in a dual-risk, biosocial perspective of developmental psychopathology, this study examined the role of higher vagal suppression in providing young adolescents protection from four parenting stressors. It was expected that lower vagal suppression would increase youth vulnerability to the deleterious effects of these parenting stressors. Depressive symptoms were examined as a central marker of socioemotional difficulties during early adolescence. The four parenting stressors examined were interparental hostility, maternal use of harsh discipline, maternal inconsistent discipline, and maternal psychological control. Participants were 68 young adolescents (Grade 6) and their mothers. Greater vagal suppression provided protection (i.e., lower depressive symptoms) from interparental hostility, harsh discipline, and maternal psychological control for boys but not for girls.

Perceived parental psychological control, familism values, and Mexican American college students' adjustment.

Drawing from cultural ecological and risk and resilience perspectives, we investigated associations among Mexican American college students' perceptions of mothers' and fathers' psychological control and familism values, and college students' adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms and self-esteem). Additionally, we examined how familism values moderated the relations between perceived psychological control and college students' adjustment. Participants were 186 Mexican American college students (78.5% women; Mage = 21.56 years), and data were collected using self-report online surveys. Using path analyses, we found that perceived maternal psychological control was positively associated and familism values were negatively associated with college students' depressive symptoms. Additionally, perceived paternal psychological control was negatively associated with college students' self-esteem when college students reported low, but not high, familism values. Findings highlight the importance of family relationships for Mexican American college students and the significance of examining these relationships within this cultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record

Parental Psychological Control and Adolescent Panic Symptom Frequency

A relatively limited research base suggests parenting practices, particularly those characterized by overcontrol, are linked to elevated risk for offspring experiencing panic symptoms. However, extant research conducted in this domain is based on adult retrospective report, and the relation between parental psychological control (parenting characterized by control attempts that intrude on the emotional development of the child) and adolescent symptoms of panic has not been examined. Moreover, few studies have examined both maternal and paternal parenting practices in relation to panic symptoms among adolescents. To address these gaps in the literature, the current study evaluated relations between both adolescent-reported maternal and paternal psychological control and panic symptom frequency. Results indicate that maternal and paternal psychological control relate positively to panic symptom frequency among adolescents.

The Effects of Parental Psychological Control and Boys and Girls’ Rejection Sensitivity on Relational Aggression in Elementary School Students

Objective This study examined the influences of maternal and paternal psychological control and children’s rejection sensitivity on relational aggression in elementary school students, and investigated whether children’s rejection sensitivity mediated the relation of parental psychological control and relational aggression. Methods The participants of this study were 596 fifth to sixth graders from seven elementary schools located in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi province. To measure the research variables, the Peer Conflict Scale (Marsee, Kimonis, & Frick, 2004), the Psychological Control Scale (Barber, 1996) and the Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (Downey, Lebolt, Rincón, & Freitas, 1998) were used. The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and t-tests. Also, structure equation model (SEM) were used to examine the mediating role of rejection sensitivity. Results The results of this study were as follows. First, the level of paternal psychological control increased the level of children’s relational aggression whereas the level of maternal psychological control had no significant effect on it. In addition, the level of rejection sensitivity had a significant positive influence on the level of relational aggression. These tendencies were observed on both boys and girls. Second, only for boys, rejection sensitivity in upper elementary school students partially mediated the relation between paternal psychological control and relational aggression. Also, for both boys and girls, rejection sensitivity completely mediated the relation between maternal psychological control and relational aggression. Conclusion In conclusion, the higher the level of paternal psychological control, the higher the level of children’s rejection sensitivity, and subsequently the higher the level of their relational aggression. Keywords: relational aggression, parental psychological control, rejection sensitivity

The effect of maternal psychological control on the depression of university students: The mediation effects of the need for approval, psychological separation and adult attachment

The effect of maternal psychological control on the depression of university students: The mediation effects of the need for approval, psychological separation and adult attachment

Consequences of 'tiger' parenting: a cross-cultural study of maternal psychological control and children's cortisol stress response.

Parenting strategies involving psychological control are associated with increased adjustment problems in children. However, no research has examined the extent to which culture and psychological control predict children's stress physiology. We examine cultural differences in maternal psychological control and its associations with children's cortisol. Chinese (N=59) and American (N=45) mother-child dyads participated in the study. Mothers reported on psychological control. Children's cortisol was collected during a stressor and two indices of Area Under the Curve (AUC) were computed: AUCg which accounts for total output, and AUCi, which captures reactivity. Results indicate that Chinese mothers reported higher levels of psychological control and Chinese children had higher levels of AUCg than their American counterparts. Across both cultures, psychological control was significantly associated with increased cortisol levels as indexed by AUCg. There were no associations for AUCi. Finally, mediation analyses demonstrated that psychological control fully explained cultural differences in children's cortisol stress response as indexed by AUCg.

Adolescents’ Conflict Resolution Styles Toward Mothers: The Role of Parenting and Personality

In the present research, we examined associations between contextual and individual factors and adolescents’ conflict resolution with mothers. In Study 1, we explored links between maternal responsiveness and psychological control and adolescent conflict resolution styles (positive problem solving, conflict engagement, withdrawal, and compliance) with two informants. In Study 2, we examined the unique contribution of adolescents’ personality above and beyond perceived parenting in the prediction of conflict resolution styles. Results of both studies indicated that responsiveness was related positively to problem solving and negatively to withdrawal. Psychological control was positively associated with destructive resolution styles. Study 2 indicated that extraversion predicted more problem solving and conflict engagement, and less withdrawal. Agreeableness predicted more problem solving and less conflict engagement. Finally, certain personality traits moderated associations between parenting and conflict resolution, indicating that some adolescents are more sensitive to these parenting dimensions than others.

International note: Maternal warmth, behavioral control, and psychological control: Relations to adjustment of Ghanaian early adolescents

This investigation addressed the relation between maternal warmth, behavioral control, psychological control, and psychological adjustment in a sample of 119 Ghanaian adolescents (42% boys) living in an urban area (mean age = 14.19). Adolescents in the sample reported clinically elevated levels of depression and anxiety. Significant associations were found between warmth, behavioral control, and psychological control and adolescents' anxiety, physical aggression, relational aggression, positive friendship quality, and conflict with friends. Warmth moderated the effect of behavioral control on anxiety, physical aggression, and relational aggression such that higher levels of warmth in combination with higher levels of behavioral control were related to more positive adjustment. Higher levels of warmth in conjunction with higher psychological control were related to higher levels of anxiety. Boys who reported lower levels of warmth in combination with higher behavioral control reported higher levels of physical aggression. For boys reporting higher levels of warmth, higher behavioral control was associated with lower physical aggression.

Maternal Psychological Control and Its Association with Mother and Child Perceptions of Adolescent Adjustment: More Evidence on the Strength of Shared Perspectives.

Mothers and adolescents hold distinct albeit correlated views of their relationship and of one another. The present study focuses on disentangling these independent views. Concurrent associations between maternal psychological control and children's adjustment are examined at two time points in order to identify the degree to which associations reflect (a) views that are shared by mothers and adolescents, and (b) views that are unique to mothers and adolescents. A total of 123 (56% female) U.S. Latino/a adolescents (M=10.4years old at the outset) and their mothers reported on maternal psychological control, children's conduct problems, and children's anxiety, twice within a 5-month period. Data were collected at the close of primary school when the adolescents were in grade 5 and again at the beginning of middle school, when they were in grade 6. Results from conventional correlations indicated that mother- and adolescent-reports yielded similar associations between maternal psychological control and adolescent adjustment. Common fate model analyses partitioned results into variance shared across mother and adolescent reports and variance unique to mother and adolescent reports. Results differed for anxiety and conduct problems. Shared views indicated that greater maternal psychological control was associated with heightened child conduct problems; there were no associations unique to either reporter. In contrast, unique reporter views indicated that greater maternal psychological control was associated with child anxiety; there were no associations involving shared views. Although mother- and adolescent-reports agree that maternal psychological control is correlated with children's adjustment, there is considerable divergence in results when associations are partitioned according to shared and unique reporter views. Associations between maternal psychological control and children's anxiety are more apt to be inflated by same-reporter variance bias than are associations between maternal psychological control and children's conduct problems.

Parental control and overconsumption of snack foods in overweight and obese children

The associations between snack food consumption, parent feeding practices and general parenting in overweight in obese children are largely unknown. Therefore, we examined these relationships in 117 treatment-seeking overweight and obese children (10.40 ± 1.35 years; 53% female; 52% Caucasian; BMI-z: 2.06 ± .39). Children consumed a dinner meal, completed an Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH) free access paradigm (total EAH intake = EAH%-total; sweet food intake = EAH%-sweet), and completed the Child Report of Parent Behavior Inventory. Parents completed the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Child EAH%-total and EAH%-sweet were positively associated with dinner consumption (p's < .01). Girls had significantly higher EAH%-total compared to boys (p < .05). In separate models, higher EAH%-total was associated with greater use of maternal psychological control (p < .05) and EAH%-sweet was positively associated with parent monitoring (p < .05). In analyses examining factors associated with the consumption of specific foods, EAH snack food, parent restriction, pressure to eat, monitoring, and maternal psychological control were positively correlated with intake of Hershey's® chocolate bars (p's < .05). In summary, parental monitoring is associated with child sweet snack food intake and maternal psychological control is associated with child total snack food consumption. Future research should evaluate the complex relationship between child eating and parenting, especially with regard to subgroups of foods.

Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Longitudinal Links with Maternal Empathy and Psychological Control

Building on self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan in Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01, 2000), the aim of the current study was to examine the role of maternal affective and cognitive empathy in predicting adolescents’ depressive symptoms, through mothers’ psychological control use. Less empathic mothers may be less sensitive to adolescents’ need for psychological autonomy, and thus prone to violating this need using psychological control, which may in turn predict adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Moreover, according to interpersonal theory of depression (Coyne in Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 85, 186–193. doi:10.1037/0021-843x.85.2.186, 1976), adolescents’ depressive symptoms may elicit rejecting responses, such as mothers’ psychological control. For six waves, 497 adolescents (57 % boys, Mage T1 = 13.03) annually completed questionnaires on depressive symptoms and maternal psychological control, while mothers reported on their empathy. Cross-lagged path analyses showed that throughout adolescence, both mothers’ affective and cognitive empathy indirectly predicted boys’ and girls’ depressive symptoms, through psychological control. Additionally, depressive symptoms predicted psychological control for boys, and early adolescent girls. These results highlight the importance of (1) mothers’ affective and cognitive empathy in predicting adolescents’ depressive symptoms, and (2) taking gender into account when examining adolescent-effects.

Does Mother-Child Interaction Mediate the Relation Between Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Children's Mental Health Problems?

The relation between maternal depressive symptoms and children’s mental health problems has been well established. However, prior studies have predominantly focused on maternal reports of children’s mental health problems and on parenting behavior, as a broad and unilateral concept. This cross-sectional study examined specific observed mother–child interaction behaviors through which maternal depressive symptoms are assumed to affect children’s mental health problems. We expected higher rates of maternal depressive symptoms to predict higher rates of children’s mental health problems, and we expected this relation to be mediated by low maternal warmth and high maternal psychological control. The sample consisted of 111 mother–child dyads referred for treatment. The mother–child interaction behaviors were coded according to the observed mother–child interaction tasks. Children’s mental health problems were assessed using both maternal reports and children’s self-reports. As expected, the results showed that maternal depressive symptoms were strongly related to maternal reports of children’s internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. Surprisingly, maternal depressive symptoms were unrelated to children’s self-reported depressive symptoms. Furthermore, mother–child interactions did not mediate the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and child mental health problems. Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with high maternal warmth, and high psychological control was associated with high levels of mother-reported externalizing mental health problems in children. These results partially replicate previous findings but add to these by using observational methods and multi-informant data. The importance of using a multi-informant and multi-method approach in assessing children’s mental health problems in clinical practice and research are discussed.

Parent–child relationships and offspring’s positive mental wellbeing from adolescence to early older age

We examined parent-child relationship quality and positive mental well-being using Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development data. Well-being was measured at ages 13–15 (teacher-rated happiness), 36 (life satisfaction), 43 (satisfaction with home and family life) and 60–64 years (Diener Satisfaction With Life scale and Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale). The Parental Bonding Instrument captured perceived care and control from the father and mother to age 16, recalled by study members at age 43. Greater well-being was seen for offspring with higher combined parental care and lower combined parental psychological control (p < 0.05 at all ages). Controlling for maternal care and paternal and maternal behavioural and psychological control, childhood social class, parental separation, mother’s neuroticism and study member’s personality, higher well-being was consistently related to paternal care. This suggests that both mother–child and father–child relationships may have short and long-term consequences for positive mental well-being.

Controle Psicológico Materno e Problemas Internalizantes em Pré-Escolares

RESUMOO estudo investigou as relações entre o controle psicológico e o controle comportamental materno e os problemas internalizantes de crianças entre 3 e 5 anos. Participaram 103 mães que responderam ao CBCL e à Entrevista Estruturada sobre Práticas Educativas Parentais e Socialização Infantil. Os resultados revelaram que duas das síndromes que representam o agrupamento de problemas internalizantes, ansiedade/depressão e retraimento, estiveram positivamente correlacionadas ao controle crítico, uma das dimensões do controle psicológico. É possível que o controle crítico materno limite o desenvolvimento socioemocional da criança e o acesso a reforçadores, contribuindo para o surgimento do retraimento e de sintomas de ansiedade/depressão. Discute-se também a relevância de outras variáveis para a compreensão dos problemas internalizantes, como as práticas de socialização emocional.

어머니의 심리적 통제와 유아의 기질-어머니의 요구수준 간 차이가 남아와 여아의 문제행동에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal psychological control and the disparity between children's temperament and mothers' demand level on children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. The participants of this study were 221 children aged 4 to 5 and their mothers from three kindergartens located in Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do. To measure children's behavior problems, the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales were used. Maternal psychological control was assessed by the Psychological Control Scale-Youth Self-Report. The Revised Dimension of Temperament Survey and DOTS-R: ethnotheory was used, to measure the disparity between children's temperament and mothers' demand level. The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, t-test and hierarchical regression analysis. The results of this study were as follows. First, both for boys and girls, the disparity between children's activity temperament and mothers' demand level had a negative effect on externalizing behavior problems. However, maternal psychological control had no significant effect on externalizing behavior problems both for boys and girls. Second, for boys, the high level of maternal psychological control and the disparity between children's adaptive temperament and mothers' demand level had a negative effect on internalizing behavior problems. However, for girls, such effects were not significant.

Maternal Psychological Control, Use of Supportive Parenting, and Childhood Depressive Symptoms.

The current study, operating from a stress-process framework, examined the interactive effects of supportive parenting practices (i.e., mothers' use of positive communication, positive parenting, and parental involvement) and maternal psychological control on mother- and child-reported child depressive symptoms in a community-recruited sample of 9-12year-olds. Discrepancies between reports of depressive symptoms were also examined. Maternal psychological control was uniquely associated with child-, not mother-, reported depressive symptoms. Parental involvement was uniquely associated with mother-, not child-, reported depressive symptoms. Positive parent-child communication was associated with both reports of child depressive symptoms at the bivariate level, but not when unique associations were examined. Positive parenting was unrelated to either report of depressive symptoms. No interaction effects were detected. The current findings highlight the differential importance of parenting practices on child depressive symptoms, and also indicate the necessity of gathering both parent and child reports of symptomatology and family functioning.

The effects of maternal psychological control on the adult attachment of students in university: The mediating effect of the need for approval

The effects of maternal psychological control on the adult attachment of students in university: The mediating effect of the need for approval