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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
"My child is shy and has no friends: what does parenting have to do with it?"
Scott R Miller1, Volha Tserakhava, Carlin J Miller
1Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada. srmiller47@gmail.com
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% 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.
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