The relationship of parental psychological control and autonomy support with adolescent anxiety: The role of different self constructs

The present study aims to examine the role of parental psychological control and autonomy support on adolescents' anxiety symptoms including social, separation, and test anxiety via the adolescents' self-esteem, self-regulation, and self-criticism in the grounded of Self Determination Theory. Previous studies demonstrated that while psychologically controlling parents approach their adolescents by disrespecting and trying to change the adolescents' thoughts and feelings, autonomy- supportive parents encourage their adolescents to be self-governed and respect their individuality. According to Self Determination Theory, the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs which are autonomy, relatedness, and competence helps individuals to have higher well-being. Because psychological control thwarted those needs, it has detrimental effects on children's and adolescents' adjustment. However parental autonomy support contributes to the children meeting the psychological needs and so autonomy-supportive parenting provides the children increasing well-being and adjustment. Children's self is also one of the mechanisms explaining the relationship between parenting and children's behaviors. The present study included adolescents' self constructs as mechanisms in the relationship between parenting and adolescent anxiety. This study was conducted with a sample of 177 mother, father and adolescent triads. Results revealed that higher parental psychological control predicted higher test anxiety symptoms in adolescents through the mediator effects of lower self-esteem, lower self-regulation, and higher self-criticism. Adolescents who perceiving higher parental psychological control have higher self-criticism, in turn, the adolescents develop higher social and separation anxiety symptoms. On the contrary, adolescents who perceive higher autonomy support from their parents are less likely to have test anxiety symptoms through the mediator effects of higher self-esteem, higher self-regulation, and lower self-criticism. The relationship between parental autonomy support and social and separation anxiety of adolescents was provided by the indirect effect of adolescents' self-criticism.