An analaysis of the mediator effect of automatic negative thoughts on the relationship between bullying behaviors and perceived parental psychological control among adolescents aged between 12-15 years old

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the mediating role of automatic negative thoughts on the relationship between perceived parental psychological control and bullying behavior of adolescents whose age are ranging from 12 to 15 years old. Moreover, the effect of sociodemoghraphic characteristics on psychological control, bullying behavior and automatic negative thoughts were also investigated. Method: The participants of this study were composed of 397 adolescents (211 girls, 186 boys) who were studying in 6th, 7th, and 8 th grade at public and private schools in Istanbul, Küçükçekmece. The Sociodemographic Characteristics and Data Form, the Psychological Control Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Scale and the Children's Social Behavioral Scale - Self Report were used in order to gather data. Results: According to the findings of the study, automatic negative thoughts demonstrated partially mediating role on the relationship between bullying behavior and level of paternal psychological control. Based on the examination of sociodemographic characteristics data, the results have shown that the level of psychological control, bullying behavior and automatic negative thoughts of participants significantly differed according to age, gender, type of school, grade, number of sibling and birth order. Conclusion: The partial mediator effect in this relationship will contribute to the literature in terms of showing that bullying behavior is affected by both cognitive processes and parental behaviors. Key Words: psychological control, bullying behavior, automatic negative thoughts, adolescence.