Poster #154 - The Relationship between Parental Psychological Control and Peer Victimization in Chinese Adolescents: A Cross-Lagged Study

• In Event: 1-115 - Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Peer victimization is a serious problem faced by children and adolescents worldwide (Hawker & Boulton 2000; Hong & Espelage 2012). Children who experience peer victimization may have maladjustment problems, such as anxiety, depression, school avoidance, and even suicide (Klomek et al., 2009; Reijntjes, Kamphuis, Prinzie, & Telch. 2010; Smithyman, Fireman, & Asher, 2014). Peer victimization in adolescents may be more detrimental and long-lasting (Ttofi, Farrington, Lösel, & Loeber, 2011). Previous research has shown that negative parenting is a potential risk factor that causes adolescents to become targets of peer victimization (Lereya, Samara, & Wolke, 2013). Psychological control, a dimension of parenting that attempts to intrude into the psychological and emotional development of the child (Barber 1996), has been proved to lead to peer victimization (Batanov & Loukas, 2014; Sun, Liang, & Bian, 2017). However, developmental theories, including control system theory of socialization and transaction model, indicate that not only parents affect children but also children have effects on parents (Bell, 1968; Sameroff, 1975). Few existing studies have explored the direction of effects between parental psychological control and peer victimization in adolescents (Ma & Bellmore, 2012). Besides, Chinese culture is deeply influenced by Confucianism, which emphasizes harmonious interpersonal relationships and filial piety to parents (Hwang, 1999; Yum, 1997). The association between psychological control and peer victimization in China may be different from Western society. Hence, the direction of effects between parental psychological control and peer victimization in Chinese adolescents is worth investigating.
To address this issue, a 3-year longitudinal design was employed. The participants were recruited from 13 junior high schools in Beijing, China (817 girls and 807 boys; M age T1= 13.15, SD = 0.44). They were asked to fill in the Parental Psychological Control Questionnaire and a modified Chinese version of the Children and Adolescents Aggressive Behavior Scale and Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Results from cross-lagged structural equation modeling indicated that: (1) There were significant positive correlations between parental psychological control and peer victimization across the three measurement points; (2) Structural equation modeling analyses generally favored the child effect model. Specifically, peer victimization at Grade 7 significantly predicted the increase in parental psychological control at Grade 8. At the same time, peer victimization at Grade 8 significantly predicted the increase in parental psychological control at Grade 9. However, the path from parental psychological control to peer victimization of next year did not reach a significant level; (3) Child gender difference did not lie in the relationship between parental psychological control and peer victimization.

Authors

• Liping Sun, Capital Normal University
  Presenting Author

• Yufang Bian, Beijing Normal University
  Non-Presenting Author