3-149 - Multiple Conceptualizations of Parental Controlling Behaviors: Differential Impacts on Long-term Child Outcomes

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Parental controlling behavior is often believed to have a negative impact on child development. However, aversive, arbitrary control may be what is leading these associations, while negotiable power may be associated with beneficial outcomes (Baumrind, 2012). This symposium details research that is designed to sort out how these different types of control are associated with later outcomes in order to elucidate the role of parental control in children’s development. Our first paper will begin the symposium differentiating between these two types of control during different contexts. It was found that negotiable control can be associated with positive outcomes, but the child developmental stage is important to take into consideration. Our next paper focuses on over-controlling parenting and reports that maternal over-control was associated with poorer regulation, which was then associated with poorer school outcomes. Lastly, the third paper continues the focus on harsh parenting, but focuses on an at-risk group of children born with an extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000g). ELBW survivors who experienced peer victimization and overprotective parenting were at the highest risk for psychiatric disorders in adulthood. All presentations focus on the impact of maternal control on child development utilizing prospective, longitudinal studies, but operationalize maternal control from different perspectives and include children at different ages and at different levels of risk in order to take a more holistic view of parental control. To conclude our symposium, our discussant will review the intricacies of these different forms of parenting and future directions in parenting research.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chair

• Kimberly L. Day, University of West Florida

Discussant

• Wendy Grolnick, Clark University

Individual Presentations

• Examining the Complexity of Maternal Control: Directive, Intrusive, and Assertive Control as Predictors of Child Self-Regulation - Presenting Author: Cynthia L. Smith, Virginia Tech; Lin Tan, Virginia Tech

• Over-controlling Parenting and Children’s Self-regulation: Implications for Social, Emotional, and Academic Adjustment - Presenting Author: Nicole B. Perry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Jessica Dollar, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Susan Calkins, University of North Carolina Greensboro; Susan Phillips Keane, UNC at Greensboro; Lilly Shanahan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Overprotective Parenting and Peer Victimization as Risk Factors for Adult Psychopathology in Extremely Low Birth Weight Survivors - Presenting Author: Kimberly L. Day, University of West Florida; Louis Schmidt, McMaster University; Tracy Vaillancourt, University of Ottawa; Saroj Saigal, McMaster University; Ryan J. Van Lieshout, McMaster University