The present study examined the association between adolescent perceptions of parental psychological control and adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms across four dyadic relationships (mother/daughter, mother/son, father/daughter, and father/eson) cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Participants were 306 sixth- and seventh-grade students,287 mothers, and 115 fathers, interviewed at two time points one year apart. Cross-sectionally, father psychological control predicted higher adolescent-reported internalizing both for boys and for girls only when mothers also were perceived as high in psychological control. Similarly, but only among girls, father psychological control predicted higher externalizing only when mothers also were perceived as high in psychological control. Longitudinal analyses indicated that adolescents with higher internalizing symptoms at one time are especially likely to perceive parents as using psychological control one year later; earlier psychological control did not predict later internalizing. For externalizing, longitudinal analyses indicated that higher psychological control at one time predicts higher externalizing one year later.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Child Behavior Checklist for ages 4-18. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychology.
2.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
3.
Armentrout, J. A., & Burger, G. K. (1972). Early adolescent's report of parental child-rearing behavior at five grade levels. Developmental Psychology, 7, 44-48.
4.
Barber, B. K. (1992). Family, personality, and adolescent problem behaviors. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 69-79.
5.
Barber, B. K. (1996). Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct. Child Development, 67, 3296-3319.
6.
Barber, B. K. (1999). Political violence, family relations, and Palestinian youth functioning. Journal of Adolescent Research, 14, 206-230.
7.
Barber, B. K., & Harmon, E. L. (2002). Violating the self: Parental psychological control of early adolescents and adolescents. In B. K. Barber (Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents (pp. 15-52). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
8.
Barber, B. K., & Olsen, J. A. (1997). Socialization in context: Connection, regulation, and autonomy in the family, school, and neighborhood, and with peers. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12, 287-315.
9.
Barber, B. K., Olsen, J. A., & Shagle, S. (1994). Associations between parental psychological control and behavioral control and youth internalized and externalized behaviors. Child Development, 65, 1120-1136.
10.
Barber, B. K., & Shagle, S. (1992). Adolescent problem behaviors: A social-ecological analysis. Family Perspective, 26, 493-515.
11.
Barber, B. K., & Thomas, D. L. (1986). Dimensions of fathers' and mothers' supportive behavior: The case for physical affection. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 783-794.
12.
Baron, P., & MacGillivray, R. G. (1989). Depressive symptoms in adolescents as a function of perceived parental behavior. Journal of Adolescent Research, 4, 50-62.
13.
Beal, C. R. (1994). Boys and girls: The development of gender roles. New York: McGraw-Hill.
14.
Block, J. (1983). Differential premises arising from differential socialization of the sexes: Some conjectures. Child Development, 54, 1335-1354.
15.
Buchanan, C. M., Eccles, J. E., & Becker, J. B. (1991). Are adolescents victims of raging hormones: Evidence for activational effects of hormones on moods and behavior at adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 62-107.
16.
Burbach, D. J., & Borduin, C. M. (1986). Parent-child relations and the etiology of depression: A review of methods and findings. Clinical Psychology Review, 6, 133-135.
17.
Burger, G. K., & Armentrout, J. A. (1971). Comparative study of methods to estimate factor scores for reports of parental behaviors. Proceedings of the 79th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, 6, 149-150.
18.
Conger, K. J., Conger, R. D., & Scaramella, L. V. (1997). Parents, siblings, psychological control, and adolescent adjustment. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12, 113-138.
19.
Cronbach, L. J. (1987). Statistical tests for moderator variables: Flaws in analyses recently proposed. Psychological Bulletin, 102, 414-417.
20.
Faulstich, M. E., Carey, M. P., Ruggiero, L., Enyart, P., & Gresham, F. (1986). Assessment of depression in childhood and adolescence: An evaluation of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scales for Children (DES-DC). American Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 1024-1027.
21.
Fletcher, A. C., Steinberg, L., & Sellers, E. B. (1999). Adolescents' well-being as a function of perceived interparental consistency. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 599-610.
22.
Flouri, E., & Buchanan, A. (2003). The role of father involvement in children's later mental health. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 63-78.
23.
Forehand, R., & Nousianinen, S. (1993). Maternal and paternal parenting: Critical dimensions in adolescent functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 7, 213-221.
24.
Galambos, N. L., & Maggs, J. L. (1991). Out-of-school care of young adolescents and self-reported behavior. Developmental Psychology, 27, 644-655.
25.
Garber, J., Robinson, N. S., & Valentiner, D. (1997). The relation between parenting and adolescent depression: Self-worth as a mediator. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12, 12-33.
26.
Ge, W., Conger, R. D., Lorenz, F. O., Shanahan, M., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (1995). Mutual influences in parent and adolescent psychological distress. Developmental Psychology, 31, 406-419.
27.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
28.
Gove, W. R., & Herb, T. R. (1974). Stress and mental illness among the young: A comparison of the sexes. Social Forces, 53, 256-265.
29.
Gray, M. R., & Steinberg, L. (1999). Unpacking authoritative parenting: Reassessing a multidimensional construct. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 547-587.
30.
Hart, C. H., Nelson, D., Robinson, C. C., Olsen, S. F., & McNeilly-Choque, M. K. (1998). Overt and relational aggression in Russian nursery-school-age early adolescents: Parenting style and marital linkages. Developmental Psychology, 34, 687-697.
31.
Hauser, S. T., Powers, S. I., Weiss-Perry, B., Follansbee, D. J., Rajapark, D., & Green, W. M. (1987). The constraining and enabling coding system manual. Unpublished manuscript.
32.
Hendrich, C. C., Blatt, S. J., Kupermine, G. P., Zohar, A., & Leadbeater, B. J. (2001). Levels of interpersonal concerns and social functioning in early adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Personality Assessment, 76, 48-67.
33.
Kleinbaum, D., Kupper, L., & Muller, K. (1988). Applied regression analysis and other multivariate methods. Boston: PWS-Kent.
34.
Kurash, C. L., & Schaul, J. F. (1987). Depression and adolescent girls. In R. Formanek & A. Gurian (Eds.), Women and depression: A lifespan perspective (pp. 84-100). New York: Springer.
35.
Lindeman, M., Harakka, T., & Keltikangas-Jarvinen, L. (1997). Age and gender differences in adolescents' reactions to conflict situations: Aggression, prosaic behavior, and withdrawal. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26, 339-351.
36.
Maccoby, E. (1990). Gender and relationships: A developmental account. American Psychologist, 45, 513-520.
37.
Mills, R. S., & Rubin, K. H. (1998). Are behavioral and psychological control both differentially associated with childhood aggression and social withdrawal? Canadian Journal of Behavioural Sciences, 30, 132-136.
38.
Montemayor, R. (1982). The relationship between parent-adolescent conflict and the amount of time adolescents spend alone with parents and peers. Child Development, 53, 1512-1519.
39.
Nelson, D. A., & Crick, N. R. (2002). Parental psychological control: Implications for childhood physical and relational aggression. In B. K. Barber (Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents (pp. 161-190). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
40.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Girgus, J. S. (1994). The emergence of gender differences in depression during adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 424-443.
41.
Patterson, G. R., Reid, J., & Dishion, T. (1992). Antisocial boys. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
42.
Pettit, G. S., & Laird, R. D. (2002). Psychological control and monitoring in early adolescence: The role of parental involvement and earlier child adjustment. In B. K. Barber (Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents (pp. 97-124). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
43.
Pettit, G. S., Laird, R. D., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Criss, M. M. (2001). Antecedents and behavior-problem outcomes of parental monitoring and psychological control in early adolescence. Child Development, 72, 583-595.
44.
Phares, V. (1999). “Poppa” psychology: The role of fathers in children's mental well-being.New York: Praeger.
45.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.
46.
Rosenfield, S., Vertefuille, J., & McAlpine, D. D. (2000). Gender stratification and mental health: An exploration of dimensions of the self. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63, 208-223.
47.
Rutter, M., Graham, P., Chadwick, O. F. D., & Yule. W. (1976). Adolescent turmoil: Fact or fiction? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 35-56.
48.
Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., & Simons, R. L. (1999). Parental protective influences and gender-specific increases in adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 9, 111-141.
49.
Schafer, E. S. (1965). Early adolescent's reports of parental behavior: An inventory. Child Development, 36, 413-424.
50.
Seibel, F. L., & Johnson, W. B. (1999). Parental control, trait anxiety, and satisfaction with life in college students. Psychological Reports, 88, 473-480.
51.
Sholomskas, D., & Axelrod, R. (1986). The influence of mother-daughter relationships on women's sense of self and current role choices. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 10, 171-182.
52.
Steinberg, L. (1981). Transformations in family relations at puberty. Developmental Psychology, 17, 833-840.
53.
Steinberg, L. (1987a). Impact of puberty on family relations: Effects of pubertal status and pubertal timing. Developmental Psychology, 23, 451-460.
54.
Steinberg, L. (1987b). Recent research on the family at adolescence: The extent and nature of sex differences. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 191-197.
55.
Steinberg, L. (1990). Autonomy, conflict, and harmony in the family relationship. In S. S. Feldman & G. R. Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 255-276). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
56.
Steinberg, L. (2001). We know some things: Parent-adolescent relations in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11, 1-19.
57.
Steinberg, L., Elmen, J. D., & Mounts, N. S. (1989). Authoritative parenting, psychosocial maturity, and academic success among adolescents. Child Development, 60, 1424-1436.
Weissman, M. M., Orvaschel, H., & Padan, N. (1980). Children's symptoms and social functioning self-report scales. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 168, 736-740.
60.
Wierson, M., Armistead, L., Forehand, R., Thomas, A. M., & Fauber, R. (1990). Parent-adolescent conflict and stress as a parent: Are there differences between being a mother or a father? Journal of Family Violence, 5, 187-197.
61.
Youniss, J., & Smollar, J. (1985). Adolescent relations with mothers, fathers, and friends. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
