Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

4-25-2024

Abstract

Parental psychological control (PPC) can drastically influence a child’s development and multiple dimensions of their young adult lives, including their sense of self-efficacy and ability to regulate their emotions. This study examines the impact of PPC on adult children between the ages of 18 – 26. Sixty-four volunteers responded to a social media announcement for an online survey including measures of perceived parental psychological control, self-efficacy, and emotional dysregulation. The results indicated that as parents were perceived as engaging in higher levels of psychologically controlling behaviors, participants also reported significantly lower levels of self-efficacy and higher levels of emotional dysregulation. The implications of the findings for understanding the negative effects of parental psychological control over the lives of adolescents are discussed.

Comments

This study was conducted as part of the requirements for Communication Research Methods (COMX 460) in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Montana, instructed by Dr. Stephen Yoshimura. The study was approved as exempt by the UM Institutional Review Board (UM IRB #08-24). The findings were presented at the 2024 Northwest Communication Association (NWCA) conference, and the paper won the Top Undergraduate Research Honorable Mention Award.

Rights

© 2024 The Authors

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