Bidirectional Longitudinal Associations between Parental Psychological Control and Peer Victimization among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction

Discrepancies in Parent-Child Perception of Parental Control and Associations with Children's Anxiety: The Buffering Effect of Parent-Child Closeness

Previous research has predominantly relied on single-informant reports to establish the association between parental control and children's anxiety. However, there remains ambiguity regarding the extent to which discrepancies in parent-child reports of parental control are related to children anxiety. This study examined parent-child perceived discrepancies in parental control and their association with children's anxiety, along with the moderated effect of parent-child closeness through cross-sectional and prospective analysis. The sample consisted of 790 children (Mage = 11.34, SD = 6.73, 45.60% for girls), with 741 father-child dyads and 760 mother-child dyads included. Data were analyzed using polynomial regressions with response surface analysis. The results indicated that children tended to perceive higher levels of parental psychological control and lower levels of behavioral control compared to their parents' perceptions. In the cross-sectional analysis, a significant association between greater incongruence in psychological/behavioral control and higher levels of children's anxiety at T1 was observed exclusively in father-child dyads. In prospective analysis, for both father-child and mother-child dyads, congruence in higher levels of psychological control was associated with higher levels of children's anxiety at T2, while congruence in higher levels of behavioral control was associated with lower levels of children's anxiety at T2. Additionally, greater incongruence in psychological/behavioral control was linked to higher levels of children's anxiety at T2. Furthermore, mother-child closeness emerged as a significant moderator such that perceived incongruence in psychological/behavioral control could not affect children's anxiety at T2 in the high mother-child closeness condition. These findings highlight the significance of considering parent-child congruence and incongruence when examining the impact of parental control on children's anxiety.

A Psychometric Examination of the Abbreviated Version of the Parenting Styles Scale Using a Sample of Chilean Adolescents

Parenting styles have been related to a series of variables that contribute positively to adulthood. The maternal and paternal parenting styles scale is a measure that presents a multidimensional structure of six correlated factors. However, the version available for Chile is extensive, with 82 items measuring this latent trait. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the reliability and validity of the abbreviated version of the maternal and paternal parenting styles scale using a sample of Chilean adolescents. The sample consisted of 2131 students of both the male and female sexes (51% males and 49% females) with a mean age of 15.85 years (SD = 1.37). The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the six-factor correlated model, showing robust psychometric indices for both modelling approaches. In relation to the factorial invariance models, the results show factorial equivalence at the scalar invariance level for the variables of sex, age, academic achievement, and type of school. The scale showed adequate levels of reliability. This study concludes that the abbreviated version of the maternal and paternal parenting styles scale is a reliable and valid instrument for its application in Chilean adolescents.

Parent-Child Discrepancies in Perceived Parental Control and Their Associations with Children's Prosocial Behaviors in Early Adolescence within Chinese Families

How parent-child discrepancies in perceived parental control associate with children's prosocial behaviors remains unknown. This study examined this issue in 578 Chinese children (297 girls, Mage = 10.85, SDage = 0.72) and their mothers and fathers. Parents and children reported parental psychological and behavioral control, and children reported their prosocial behaviors. The latent difference scores modeling showed that compared to parents' perceptions, children's higher perceptions of guilt induction were related to more public prosocial behaviors; higher perceptions of love withdrawal were linked to fewer altruistic, compliant, emotional, and dire prosocial behaviors; and higher reporting of solicitation was associated with more general prosocial behaviors. The findings revealed the association between parent-child discrepancies and early adolescents' prosocial behaviors, supporting both the discrepancy-maladaptive hypotheses and the discrepancy-adaptive hypotheses within Chinese families.