NCJ Number
234342
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2011 Pages: 442-452
Date Published
April 2011
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examined parental paychological control over their children's social success.
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that parents may react differentially to children based on their children's temperament, children's gender, and the interaction of these factors. Furthermore, parents' differential reactions to their children have direct implications for their children's social success. The present study assessed the moderating influence of mothers' and fathers' psychological control on the relationship between shy temperament and peer exclusion in grade five children (n = 153; 57 percent female), an age during which peer connections are particularly salient. Teachers reported on children's shyness and peer exclusion, and children reported on parents' psychological control. Regression analyses showed fathers' psychological control to be associated with greater peer exclusion for males. Both mothers' and fathers' psychological control were associated with peer exclusion for shy females. Results suggest the importance of parents considering how psychologically controlling behaviors may work in concert with their children's gender and temperament in influencing peer connections during the adolescent transition. (Published Abstract)