Date of Award
Summer 2008
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Grych, John
Second Advisor
Gerdes, Alyson
Third Advisor
Wierzbicki, Michael
Abstract
Parental psychological control refers to intrusive strategies that infringe upon the psychological world of the child. Parents who demonstrate high levels of psychological control pressure their children to comply with their personal standards via manipulation of the parent-child bond (i.e., love withdrawal and guilt induction), negative, affect-laden comments (i.e., criticism, disappointment, and shame), and excessive personal control (i.e., possessiveness and over-involvement) (Barber, 1996; Barber, Olsen, & Shagle, 1994; Schaefer, 1965a; 1965b; Steinberg, 1990). Research investigating the impact of parental psychological control on child adjustment has indicated that it has harmful effects on children. Studies have demonstrated, across populations, that psychological control is related to disruption of the child's self-system, including self-regulation, ego development, and interpersonal functioning (i.e., Allen, Hauser, Eickholt, Bell, & O'Connor, 1994; Baumrind, 1966; Best, Hauser, & Allen, 1997; Hauser, Powers, Noam, Jacobson, Weiss, & Follansbee, 1984; Hauser, Powers, & Noam, 1991) to internalizing and externalizing adjustment problems, (i.e., Barber & Shagle, 1992; Barber, 1996; Conger, Conger, & Scaramella, 1997; Fauber, Forehand, Thomas, & Wierson, 1990; Garber, Robinson, & Valentiner, 1997; Herman, Dornbusch, Harron, & Harting, 1997; Mills & Rubin, 1990; Steinberg, 1990), and to low academic achievement (Steinberg, Elmen, & Mounts, 1989)....