Research commentary on psychological control

葛星

【Abstract】psychological control is an important dimension for parenting ways. The methods of researching psychological control mainly include questionnaires and observation. The current research on psychological control mainly includes psychological controls impact on the children and adolescents mental health， factors influencing parental psychological control， the influence of parental psychological on children and adolescents of different group and different cultures .

【 Key words】psychological control; parenting style

1. Concepts of Parental Psychological control

Psychological control is one of the core dimensions for ways of parental education and cultivation. It refers to that parents invade childrens inner world by the means of withdrawing their love， blaming children and cause them to feel guilty.? Parental psychological control has negative effects on the individuals development like making them feel anxious， depressed and causing them to assault others， etc. In 1996， the researcher， Barber published an article entitled Parental Psychological Control： Revisiting a Neglected Construct on Child Development. Scholars began to pay attention to the topic of psychological control. Shaefer （1965） first explicitly proposed the concept of psychological control： parents do not allow children and teenagers to leave them and grow into independent people. “Aggressive” psychological control will hinder adolescents mental development， such as self-efficacy， sense of self-worth sense， etc.

Behavioral control refers to parents use of explicit control strategies， such as monitoring childrens activities and whereabouts as well as using rules and restrictions to manage childrens behaviors （Shek， 2005）. In contrast， psychological control focuses on implicitly manipulating childrens behaviors through regulating their emotions， thoughts， and feelings（Smetana and Daddis， 2002）. Tactics of psychological control include personal attacks， inducing guilt， authority assertion， and

love withdrawal. Scholars concluded that while “behavioral control communicates that a behavior is unacceptable， psychological control communicates that the adolescents thoughts， emotions， feelings， and/or even the adolescent are unacceptable” （Rogers et al.， 2003， p. 350）. From the existing scientific literature， while parental behavioral control is positively linked to adolescent developmental outcomes， psychological control impairs adolescent development （Barber et al.， 2005; Wang et al.， 2007; Bleakley et al.， 2016）.

Parental psychological control was demonstrated in six aspects including limit expressions， invalidating or dismissing childrens feelings or ideas， guilt induction， criticism， and threatening to withdraw love， unstable emotion expressions. Later Shaefer（ 1965） proposed that parenting can be divided into three dimensions： accept & refuse， control with eyes on them & control in eyes & control loosely， psychological control & psychological autonomy.

2. Tools to measure up parental psychological control

In 1996， Barber made psychological control scale—— Psychological Control Scale-Observer Rating Scale， PCS-ORS. Dimensions for this rating scale include limit childrens expression， invalidating or dismissing childrens feelings or ideas， personal attacks， guilt induction， threatening to withdraw love， weird ways of expressing emotions and then further improved and designed 16 questions including 6-dimension questionnaire of psychological control-- Psychological Control Scale-Youth Self Report， PCS-YSR.

Mills （1998） and some people use the method of video observing to conduct research on the behaviors of parental psychological control. The coded category is some languages used to belittle children like abuse.

3.Factors influencing parental psychological control

Some scholars put forward three factors influence parenting functions： children characteristics， pressure of parenting， etc. Parent-child relational quality refers to the nature of parent-child relationship， such as trust between adolescents and their parents， adolescents willingness to communicate with their parents and their satisfaction with the parents control （Shek， 2005）. On one hand， there would be a close linkage between relational qualities and parental control. For instance， adolescents willingness to communicate with their parents would enhance behavioral control （e.g.， awareness of the childs daily life） due to childrens voluntary self-disclosure （Shek and Law， 2014）. On the other hand， adolescents addicted.

Internet use can at least be partially attributed to an attempt to cope with unfavorable family relationships （Bleakley et al.， 2016）. In contrast， if the children have good relationships with their parents， one can anticipate childrens higher willingness to be socialized in a way in line with their parents expectation.

Parents perfectionism， psychological stress， psychological control is related. Parents who are aggressive toward peers tend to have more psychological control over their children. Childrens temperament has a regulating effect on parents psychological control. Follow-up studies have found that childrens bad behavior can predict their parents psychological control.

4.Related research on parental psychological control

Numerous studies have provided evidence that culture plays an important role in how parents socialize their children（Ka?it?iba?i 1996）. Baumrinds （1967） early typological works incorporated control as one of the important facets of parental behaviors. Parental control is one of the major aspects of parenting that has received

attention in cross-cultural studies （e.g.， Rudy and Halgunseth 2005; Wang et al. 2007）， notably in relation to childrens various developmental outcomes （e.g.， Barber etal. 1994; Kincaid et al. 2011）. Less attention has been paid， After many years of research and verification， currently researchers found through analysis that there is a significant positive correlation between parental psychological control and implicit problems （such as anxiety and depression） and explicit problems （bad behaviors）.

As the conceptual distinction between behavioral and psychological control has been established across nationalities and ethnicities （Bean et al. 2006; Wang et al. 2007）， the meaning and impact of these forms of parental control are expected to vary by culture. Research has revealed that Asian traditions generally support exercising strict control over children （Fung1999）， whereas parenting in European countries and among Anglo-Americans is generally less restrictive （Julian et al.1994）. Research evidence has indicated that supportive and non-punitive parenting is linked to positive psychosocial outcomes in all cultures （Rowe et al. 1994）， but parental strictness and dominance （characteristics of parental control）， which are often considered negative parenting practices in Western cultures （Silk et al. 2003）， also result in positive developmental outcomes among Asian children （Chao 1994）. Some researchers have further argued that the effects of parental control may be different in Asian cultures compared with American culture （Wu 1985; Olsen et al. 2002）. As interpersonal connectedness and interdependence are highly valued in Asian families as is hierarchical control （e.g.， respect for authority figures and elders， strong patriarchal traditions）， parental control over childrens thoughts and feelings may not be associated with a violation of childrens sense of self in Asian cultures （Olsen et al. 2002） but rather as contributing to social order and societal well-being. This view is consistent with the general acknowledgement that the same parental behavior may convey different meanings to children and adolescents in various cultures （Ka?it?iba?i 1996）.

5.Future Research Prospects

To sum up， psychological control is a psychologically oriented， aggressive， restrictive and manipulative parenting style. The following research is expected to expand and deepen the research on parental psychological control： 1. Characteristics of parental psychological control， and laws of its change and development 2.Explore and have the innovation in the research ways. In conclusion， there are still many problems to be explored and resolved in the future research on parental psychological control. Parenting styles have important effect on the harmony development of children and adolescents.

References：

[1]Soenens， B.， Elliot， A. J.， Goossens， L.， Vansteenkiste， M.， Luyten， P.， &Duriez， B. The intergenerational transmission of perfectionism： parents psychological control as an intervening variable[J]. Journal of Family Psychology Jfp Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association，2005，19（3）：358.

[2]Barber， B. K. Parental psychological control： revisiting a neglected construct[J]. Child Development，2010，67（6）：3296-3319.

[3]Baumrind， D. The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use[J]. Journal of Early Adolescence， 1991，11（1）：56-95.

[4]Speck， M. K. A.， & Riggs， D. S. Parenting Styles in Military and Civilian Families with Adolescents： The Impact of Deployment， Mood， and Marital Satisfaction[J]. War and Family Life，2016.