Cross-lagged panel analyses of maternal psychological control and young adolescents’ emotion regulation

Introduction: The present study examined the longitudinal relations between maternal psychological control and emotion regulation in Chinese adolescents. Specifically, we examined how emotion regulation was reciprocally associated with multiple dimensions of psychological control, including love withdrawal, guilt induction, and shaming in the Chinese cultural context. Methods: Participants consisted of 865 Chinese students from fourth through eighth grade (50.8% girls; M_age = 11.82 years at Wave 1, SD_age = 1.28 at Wave 1, range = 10–15 years). Data were collected at two time-periods over a one-year period. Children reported on their emotion regulation. Mothers rated their engagement in love withdrawal, guilt induction, and shaming. Results: Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed an adequate model fit. Children's emotion regulation at study onset predicted decreases in all three dimensions of maternal psychological control one year later, whereas the three dimensions of maternal psychological control did not significantly predict emotion regulation one year later. Conclusions: Findings revealed the longitudinal associations among child emotion regulation and maternal psychological control within a specific cultural context. Implications for the meaning of psychological control parenting in Chinese culture are discussed.