Parental psychological control and youths' internalizing symptoms in majority world contexts: A meta-analysis

Majority World societies, often called the Global South, include countries in Asia, Latin America, Middle East/North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. Prior meta-analyses primarily on Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies found a significant association between higher parental psychological control and increased youth internalizing symptoms. However, it remains unclear whether this link generalizes beyond WEIRD populations, given potential cultural differences and their influences on parenting norms. Some argue the effect of psychological control is universal, while others suggest weaker or nonexistent links in Majority World cultures. The present meta-analysis examined the association between parental psychological control and internalizing problems among children and adolescents in Majority World contexts. Data were analyzed using 37 published and unpublished studies of families with youth (k = 48; N = 27,150; 57.4% females) conducted in 18 countries/groups between 1999 and 2024. Results revealed a modest, moderate-sized effect (r = .27), indicating a link between greater parental psychological control and higher internalizing symptoms. Furthermore, moderator analyses showed the effect was stronger when psychological control and internalization were youth-reported rather than parent-reported. The association was also more pronounced when a measure did not specify which parent provided psychological control as in undifferentiated (or parental), rather than a measure that referenced a specific parental figure, and in adolescent versus child samples. These findings indicate parental psychological control is associated with internalization among youths in Majority World cultures. Implications for parenting research as well as interventions aimed at reducing harmful control while supporting youth development are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).