Investigating the effects of parental psychological control, perceived parental warmth and strict control/supervision on emotional abuse in romantic relationships

The present study investigated the effects of parental psychological control, parental warmth and parental strict control/supervision on emotional abuse victimization in romantic relationships. Two hundred thirty university students, who have ever had a romantic relationship for at least six months, filled out Psychological Control Scale (PCS), Parenting Styles Questionnaire (PSQ), Earlier Abuse Experience Information Form (EAEIF) and Emotional Abuse Questionnaire (EAQ). Moderation analysis indicated that three-way interaction between parental psychological control, warmth and strict control on emotional abuse was significant. More specifically, parental psychological control predicted emotional abuse victimization when parental warmth was both moderate and high, but when strict control/supervision was low. The findings indicate that parental warmth exacerbates the negative effects of psychological control on emotional abuse victimization in romantic relationships of late adolescents only when parents do not provide enough behavioral control and monitoring for inappropriate behaviors during childhood. The present study significantly contributed to our understanding of how perceived childhood experiences of parental psychological control and parental attitudes are transferred to late adolescence, and therefore affect adolescents' current experiences of emotional abuse in their romantic relationships. Keywords: Psychological Control, Parental Warmth, Strict Control/Supervision, Emotional Abuse