Parental Control: A Second Cross-Cultural Research on Parenting and Psychological Adjustment of Children

Parental control is among the important factors influencing the psychological development of children. In addition to other questionnaires, a questionnaire of father and mother control was administered to adolescents in nine countries. The results showed that parental control differs across cultures. Parental control was higher in the eastern than western countries. Mothers, particularly in the west, are more controlling than fathers. Fathers’ rather than mothers’ control was associated with adolescents’ psychological disorders in the west, but not in the east. Inconsistent parental control was associated with psychological disorders.