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Do Personality Traits Moderate Relations Between Psychologically Controlling Parenting and Problem Behavior in
Elien Mabbe1, Bart Soenens1, Maarten Vansteenkiste1
1Ghent University.
Journal of Personality
|February 14, 2015
Summary
Adolescents' problem behaviors are linked to psychologically controlling parenting, but personality traits like Agreeableness can buffer this effect. Psychological need frustration mediates this relationship, highlighting the importance of autonomy and relatedness for adolescent well-being.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Adolescent Psychology
- Personality Psychology
Background:
- Psychologically controlling parenting is associated with negative child outcomes.
- Self-determination theory posits that frustration of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) underlies maladaptive behavior.
- Adolescents' personality traits may influence their susceptibility to parenting styles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the moderating role of adolescents' personality traits in the link between psychologically controlling parenting and problem behaviors.
- To examine the mediating role of psychological need frustration in this association, guided by self-determination theory.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study with two adolescent samples (N = 423 and 292).
- Data collected via self-reports and parent-reports on parenting, personality, need frustration, and problem behaviors.
- Statistical analyses included moderation and mediation models.
Main Results:
- Psychologically controlling parenting was consistently associated with internalizing and externalizing problems.
- Adolescent Agreeableness moderated the association, with psychological control unrelated to externalizing problems in high-Agreeableness adolescents.
- Psychological need frustration mediated the link between psychological control and problem behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent personality, particularly Agreeableness, plays a modest role in moderating the impact of controlling parenting.
- Frustration of adolescents' psychological needs is a key mechanism explaining the detrimental effects of psychologically controlling parenting.
- Interventions should focus on fostering autonomy and relatedness to mitigate negative outcomes associated with controlling parenting.
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