title: Relations between parental psychological control and childhood relational aggression: reciprocal in nature?
abstract: Using a cross-lagged panel design, this study examined the directionality of relations between parental psychological control and child relational aggression. Data were collected from a proportionally stratified sample of 600 Flemish 8- to 10-year-old children at 3 measurement points with 1-year intervals. Reciprocal effects were evident in mother-child dyads. Maternal psychological control was positively related to child relational aggression 1 year later, and child relational aggression was positively related to maternal psychological control 1 year later. The father-child dyads were best represented by unidirectional parent effects. Paternal psychological control was positively related to child relational aggression 1 year later. Surprisingly, these effects emerged only for relational aggression as indexed by mother and father reports and not for relational aggression as indexed by teacher and peer measures.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Parenting, Child Welfare & Disabilities, Department of Educational Sciences, K.U., Leuven, Belgium. Sofie.Kuppens@ped.kuleuven.be
authors.forename: Sofie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuppens
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grietens
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Onghena
authors.forename: Daisy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Michiels
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003068:Coercion; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012737:Sex Factors