Journal
JOURNAL OF YOUTH AND ADOLESCENCE
Volume 51, Issue 10, Pages 1944-1957Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1007/s10964-022-01642-0
Keywords
Psychological control; Parent psychopathology; Youth externalizing problems; Neighborhood risks; Informant reports
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation, Developmental and Learning Sciences [1628820, 0951775]
- Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie [1628820] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci [1628820] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Despite existing research demonstrating the negative association between parental psychological control and youth adjustment, there is limited knowledge about the precursors of parental psychological control. This study identified several predictors of changes in maternal psychological control, including maternal problems, youth externalizing problems, and neighborhood risks. Additionally, the study found gender differences, with neighborhood risks predicting decreases in maternal psychological control for girls but increases for boys.
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.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available