Clarifying the Link between Parental Psychological Control and Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms Reciprocal versus Unidirectional Models

Research has demonstrated consistent positive associations between perceived parental psychological control and adolescents' depressive symptoms, but the direction of influence remains unclear. Using a cross-lagged longitudinal design in two samples of late (Study 1, N = 396) and middle (Study 2, N = 724) adolescents, this study compared three models, that is, a psychological control effects model, an adolescent adjustment effects model, and a reciprocal model. Structural equation modeling analyses generally favored the reciprocal model over each of the unidirectional models. The cross-logged effects of perceived psychological control remained significant after controlling for two important parenting dimensions (i.e., parental responsiveness and behavioral control; Study 1) and were found in all types of parent-adolescent dyads except for the mother-daughter dyad (Study 2). Implications for the understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the deleterious effects of parents' psychological control on adolescent adjustment are discussed.