In Search of the Sources of Psychologically Controlling Parenting: The Role of Parental Separation Anxiety and Parental

This study investigated the role of two dimensions of parental separation anxiety—Anxiety about Adolescent Distancing (AAD) and Comfort with Secure Base Role (CSBR)—and parental maladaptive perfectionism in the prediction of psychologically controlling parenting. In a sample of middle adolescents and their parents (N5 677), it was found that parents ’ AAD scores and maladaptive perfectionism were positively related to psycholog-ical control, whereas parents ’ CSBR scores were negatively related to psy-chological control. Further, psychological control served as an intervening variable in the links between parent characteristics and adolescent well-being. These findings suggest that two qualitatively different types of psy-chological control may exist: one originating from parents ’ separation anx-iety and another originating from parents ’ maladaptive perfectionist standards. There is renewed interest in the construct of psychological control, as it relates to parents ’ attempts to control the psychological world of their child via guilt-induction, love withdrawal, and manipulations of the at-tachment bond with the child (Barber, 1996; Schaefer, 1965). Psychological control characterizes parents who are overly involved with their persona