Parental psychological control: revisiting a neglected construct.

This article argues for the value in socialization research of focusing explicitly on the construct of parental psychological control of children--control that constrains, invalidates, and manipulates children's psychological and emotional experience and expression. The article traces the history of the construct and distinguishes psychological control theoretically and empirically from more behaviorally oriented control. 2 new measures of psychological control are developed. Data from 3 separate studies are presented which indicate that psychological control can be adequately measured across demographically varied samples and mode of measurement. In both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, psychological control, particularly as perceived by preadolescents and adolescents, is consistently predictive of youth internalized problems (depression) and, in some cases, externalized problems (delinquency). In contrast, behavioral control is related primarily to externalized problems.

[1]  T. Dishion,et al.  Preventing escalation in problem behaviors with high-risk young adolescents: immediate and 1-year outcomes. , 1995, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[2]  R. Montemayor,et al.  Personal relationships during adolescence , 1995 .

[3]  J. Allen,et al.  Autonomy and Relatedness in Family Interactions as Predictors of Expressions of Negative Adolescent Affect , 1994 .

[4]  B. Barber,et al.  Associations between parental psychological and behavioral control and youth internalized and externalized behaviors. , 1994, Child development.

[5]  W. Collins,et al.  Relationships during adolescence: Continuity and change in interpersonal perspective: Personal relationships during adolescence , 1994 .

[6]  M. Hoffman.  Discipline and internalization. , 1994 .

[7]  Jacqueline J. Goodnow,et al.  Impact of parental discipline methods on the child's internalization of values: A reconceptualization of current points of view. , 1994 .

[8]  N. Darling,et al.  Parenting Style as Context: An Integrative Model , 1993 .

[9]  B. B. Brown,et al.  Parenting practices and peer group affiliation in adolescence. , 1993, Child development.

[10]  C. Coulton,et al.  Interaction Effects in Multiple Regression , 1993 .

[11]  N. Darling,et al.  Impact of parenting practices on adolescent achievement: authoritative parenting, school involvement, and encouragement to succeed. , 1992, Child development.

[12]  Z. Stoneman,et al.  Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations of sibling conflict with family relationship assessments and family discussions about sibling problems. , 1992, Child development.

[13]  M. DeAntonio,et al.  BOOK REVIEWSAt the Threshold: The Developing AdolescentAt the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent, S. Shirley Feldman, Glen R. Elliot M.D., Ph.D. (Eds.), Harvard University Press, Combridge, MA (1990), p. 642, $39.95 (hardcover). , 1992 .

[14]  B. Barber.  Family, Personality, and Adolescent Problem Behaviors. , 1992 .

[15]  Dante Cicchetti,et al.  Internalizing and externalizing expressions of dysfunction , 2014 .

[16]  D. Baumrind.  The Influence of Parenting Style on Adolescent Competence and Substance Use , 1991 .

[17]  T. Achenbach.  Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 profile , 1991 .

[18]  L. Bank,et al.  An early starter model for predicting delinquency. , 1991 .

[19]  Kenneth H. Rubin,et al.  The development and treatment of childhood aggression. , 1991 .

[20]  G. Elliott,et al.  At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent , 1990 .

[21]  R. Forehand,et al.  A mediational model of the impact of marital conflict on adolescent adjustment in intact and divorced families: the role of disrupted parenting. , 1990, Child development.

[22]  L. Steinberg,et al.  Authoritative parenting and adolescent adjustment across varied ecological niches. , 1990 .

[23]  Laurence Steinberg,et al.  Autonomy, conflict, and harmony in the family relationship. , 1990 .

[24]  L. Steinberg,et al.  Authoritative parenting, psychosocial maturity, and academic success among adolescents. , 1989, Child development.

[25]  R. Volk.  Family Systems of Adolescent Substance Abusers , 1989 .

[26]  M. Forgatch.  Patterns and Outcome in Family Problem Solving: The Disrupting Effect of Negative Emotion. , 1989 .

[27]  C. Cooper,et al.  Individuation in Family Relationships , 1986 .

[28]  T. D. Olson,et al.  Parental discipline and control attempts in relation to adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior. , 1986 .

[29]  L. Constantine.  Family Paradigms: The Practice of Theory in Family Therapy , 1986 .

[30]  C. Borduin,et al.  Parent-child relations and the etiology of depression: A review of methods and findings , 1986 .

[31]  T. Achenbach.  Assessment and Taxonomy of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology , 1985 .

[32]  J. Carlsmith,et al.  Single parents, extended households, and the control of adolescents. , 1985, Child development.

[33]  J. Youniss,et al.  Adolescent Relations with Mothers, Fathers and Friends , 1985 .

[34]  R. Loeber,et al.  Adolescent marijuana and alcohol use: the role of parents and peers revisited. , 1985, The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse.

[35]  R. Sabatelli,et al.  Differentiation, individuation, and identity formation: the integration of family system and individual developmental perspectives. , 1985, Adolescence.

[36]  R. Loeber,et al.  Boys who fight at home and school: family conditions influencing cross-setting consistency. , 1984, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[37]  G R Patterson,et al.  The correlation of family management practices and delinquency. , 1984, Child development.

[38]  S. Hauser,et al.  Familial contexts of adolescent ego development. , 1984, Child development.

[39]  C. Edelbrock,et al.  Manual for the Child: Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile , 1983 .

[40]  E. Maccoby,et al.  Socialization In The Context Of The Family: Parent-Child Interaction , 1983 .

[41]  E. M. Hetherington,et al.  Socialization, personality, and social development , 1983 .

[42]  C. Zahn-Waxler,et al.  Young Children's Compliance and Noncompliance to Parental Discipline in a Natural Setting , 1982 .

[43]  W. Beavers,et al.  Healthy, midrange, and severely dysfunctional families. , 1982 .

[44]  Froma Walsh,et al.  Normal family processes. , 1982 .

[45]  M. Lieberman,et al.  The stress process. , 1981, Journal of health and social behavior.

[46]  D. Olweus.  Familial and temperamental determinants of aggressive behavior in adolescent boys: A causal analysis. , 1980 .

[47]  J. Blair,et al.  Parent-Child Relations , 1980 .

[48]  David V. Keith,et al.  Family Therapy in Clinical Practice , 1980 .

[49]  J. Mccord.  Some child-rearing antecedents of criminal behavior in adult men. , 1979, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[50]  B. C. Rollins,et al.  Parental support, power, and control techniques in the socialization of children , 1979 .

[51]  Wesley R. Burr,et al.  Contemporary theories about the family , 1979 .

[52]  D. Baumrind,et al.  Parental Disciplinary Patterns and Social Competence in Children , 1978 .

[53]  Salvador Minuchin,et al.  Families and Family Therapy , 1974 .

[54]  B. N. Phillips,et al.  Carmichael's Manual of child psychology. , 1972 .

[55]  D. Baumrind.  Current patterns of parental authority. , 1971 .

[56]  S. A. Barnett,et al.  Early nutrition and the activity and feeding of rats in an artificial environment. , 1971, Developmental psychobiology.

[57]  P. Osterrieth.  [Parent-child relations]. , 1971, Nursing.

[58]  P. Mussen,et al.  Carmichael's Manual of Child Psychology , 1972 .

[59]  S. Schludermann,et al.  Replicability of Factors in Children's Report of Parent Behavior (CRPBI) , 1970 .

[60]  I. Fras.  Identity: Youth and Crisis , 1968 .

[61]  D. Baumrind.  Authoritarian vs. authoritative parental control. , 1968 .

[62]  S. Coopersmith,et al.  The antecedents of self-esteem. , 1969 .

[63]  J E Spivey,et al.  Resistance to extinction as a function of number of N-R transitions and percentage of reinforcement. , 1967, Journal of experimental psychology.

[64]  A. E. Black,et al.  Socialization practices associated with dimensions of competence in preschool boys and girls. , 1967, Child development.

[65]  D. Baumrind,et al.  Child care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. , 1967, Genetic psychology monographs.

[66]  D. Baumrind,et al.  EFFECTS OF AUTHORITATIVE PARENTAL CONTROL ON CHILD BEHAVIOR , 1966 .

[67]  E. Schaefer,et al.  A configurational analysis of children's reports of parent behavior. , 1965, Journal of consulting psychology.

[68]  M. Siegelman.  College student personality correlates of early parent-child relationship. , 1965, Journal of consulting psychology.

[69]  D. Baumrind.  Parental control and parental love. , 1965, Children.

[70]  E. Schaefer.  CHILDREN'S REPORTS OF PARENTAL BEHAVIOR: AN INVENTORY. , 1965, Child development.

[71]  E. Schaefer,et al.  A circumplex model for maternal behavior. , 1959, Journal of abnormal and social psychology.

[72]  A. Reiss,.  Delinquency as the Failure of Personal and Social Controls , 1951 .

[73]  T. Hirschi.  Causes of Delinquency. , 1970, British medical journal.

[74]  A. Baldwin.  Socialization and the parent-child relationship. , 1948 .

[75]  H. Murray.  Explorations in personality : a clinical and experimental study of fifty men of college age , 1939 .