Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior

PARENTING: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE, 14: 47–67, 2014
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1529-5192 print / 1532-7922 online
DOI: 10.1080/15295192.2014.880018

Parental Psychological Control and Adolescent
Adjustment: The Role of Adolescent Emotion
Regulation
Lixian Cui, Amanda Sheffield Morris, Michael M. Criss,
Benjamin J. Houltberg, and Jennifer S. Silk
SYNOPSIS
Objective. This study investigated associations between parental psychological control and
aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms among adolescents from predominantly disadvantaged backgrounds. The indirect effects of psychological control on adolescent adjustment through adolescent emotion regulation (anger and sadness regulation) were examined,
as well as the moderating effects of adolescent emotion regulation. Design. 206 adolescents (aged 10–18 years) reported on parental psychological control and their own depressive symptoms, and parents and adolescents reported on adolescent emotion regulation and
aggressive behavior. Indirect effect models were tested using structural equation modeling;
moderating effects were tested using hierarchical multiple regression. Results. The associations between parental psychological control and adolescent aggressive behavior and
depressive symptoms were indirect through adolescents’ anger regulation. Moderation analyses indicated that the association between parental psychological control and adolescent
depressive symptoms was stronger among adolescents with poor sadness regulation and
the association between psychological control and aggressive behavior was stronger among
older adolescents with poor anger regulation. Conclusions. Psychological control is negatively associated with adolescent adjustment, particularly among adolescents who have
difficulty regulating emotions. Emotion regulation is one mechanism through which psychological control is linked to adolescent adjustment, particularly anger dysregulation, and
this pattern holds...