Parental Perceived Control and Social Support: Linkages to Change in Parenting Behaviors During Early Adolescence

• Published date: 01 June 2018
• Author: Terese Glatz,Mark E. Feinberg,Gregory M. Fosco,Melissa A. Lippold
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12283
• Date: 01 June 2018

Parental Perceived Control and Social Support:

Linkages to Change in Parenting Behaviors During

Early Adolescence

MELISSA A. LIPPOLD*

TERESE GLATZ

†

GREGORY M. FOSCO

‡

MARK E. FEINBERG

§

Prior studies have found that parents’ perceptions of control over their lives and their

social support may both be important for parenting behaviors. Yet, few studies have exam-

ined their unique and interacting influence on parenting behaviors during early adoles-

cence. This longitudinal study of rural parents in two-parent families (N=636)

investigated (a) whether perceived control and social support when their youth were in

sixth grade were independently or interactively associated with changes in parenting

behaviors (discipline, standard setting) and parent–child warmth and hostility 6 months

later and (b) if these linkages differed by parent gender. We also investigated the interac-

tive links between perceived control, social support, and parenting. Specifically, we test ed

if parents’ perceived control moderated the linkages between social support and parenting

and if these linkages differed by parent gender. Greater perceived control predicted more

increases in parents’ consistent discipline and standard setting, whereas greater social

support predicted increases in parent–child warmth and decreases in parent–child host il-

ity. Parental perceived control moderated the effect of social support on paren tal warmth:

For mothers only, social support was significantly linked to parent–child warmth only

when mothers had low (but not high) perceived self-control. The discussion focus es on rea-

sons why perceived control and social support may have associations with different aspects

of parenting and why these might differ for mothers and fathers.

Keywords: Perceived Control; Social Support; Parenting Behaviors; Early Adolescence

Fam Proc 57:432–447, 2018

Although it is rewarding, parenting is also among the most demanding social roles in

adulthood. This might be especially true for parents of adolescents as parents often

endorse disproportionate negative stereotypes of adolescence as a period of storm and

*School of Social Work, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.

†

School of Law, Psychology and Social Work,

€

Orebro University, Orebro, Sweden.

‡

Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University

Park, PA.

§

Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Melissa A. Lippold, School of Social Work,

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building, 325 S. Pittsboro St CB #

3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. E-mail: mlippold@unc.edu

Work on this paper was supported by research grant R03 DA038685 and R01 DA013709 from the

National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not nec-

essarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of

Health. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

432

Family Process, Vol. 57, No. 2, 2018 ©2017 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12283

stress (e.g., Buchanan & Hughes, 2009) and often report being worried about this develop-

mental period (Silverberg & Steinberg, 1990). Indeed, youth experience many changes as

they transition into adolescence, including increased independence and autonomy and

increased reliance on peers. Such changes might be stressful for parents, who may find

that they need to adapt to a new parenting role (Collins & Laursen, 2006). Because certain

parenting behaviors, such as consistent discipline and parental warmth, are linked to pos-

itive adolescent adjustment in prior studies (Steinberg & Silk, 2002), it is important to

know what factors increase such parenting behaviors at their children’s transition to ado-

lescence.

Two factors suggested by Belsky (1984) might be the important influences on parenting

behaviors: parents’ personal psychological resources and contextual sources of support.

Parents may be influenced by their own internal, psychological resources, such as their

perceptions of their ability to exert control and influence their own lives and behaviors

(Bandura, 1997, 2002; Skinner, 1996). Beyond self-perceptions, parents also may benefit

from external support, such as having people in their lives who can provide advice, guid-

ance, and aid in their parenting role (Dominguez & Watkins, 2003). Building on prior

work documenting these psychological and external resources as determinants o f parent-

ing, the current study seeks to address important limitations to the literature. First, the

existing literature has generally focused on each of these factors in isolation; it is unknown

whether these factors offer unique, additive benefits to parenting. Second, little is known

about how internal and external factors may interact to affect parenting, and if one of

these resources may compensate for another. Lastly, prior work has largely focused on

parenting during early childhood (e.g., Jackson, 2000; Raikes & Thomson, 2005) and little

is known about these determinants of parenting during the transition to adolescence.

Thus, in this study, we examine these two potential resources: parents’ perceived control

—an internal resource—and their social support—an external resource—as predictors of

parenting among a sample of rural mothers and fathers of children at the transition to

adolescence.

Parents’ Perceived Control as an Internal Resource

As an internal resource, parents’ perceptions of the level of control over their lives

might be important for their parenting (Bandura, 1997; Skinner, 1996). Different terms

and concepts have been used to refer to a person’s perceived control, such as efficacy, locus

of control, and mastery (Bandura, 1997; Skinner, 1996). In general, these concepts can be

divided into two groups: proximal and distal control beliefs (Murray, Rodgers, & Fraser,

2012). Proximal control beliefs describe a person’s perceived level of control ove r exercis-

ing a specific behavior, such as a specific parenting behavior, whereas distal control beliefs

tap into beliefs about control over life in general (Murray et al., 2012). Parents’ dist al con-

trol beliefs, such as their global sense of control, may include their perceptions about many

aspects of their lives, not just parenting, such as perceptions about control over finances,

work, and other relationships.

Most research on parental control beliefs and parenting has been conducted using mea-

sures of proximal control beliefs, such as those related to parenting. Proximal beliefs have

been linked to certain parenting behaviors, such as parental warmth and positive disci-

pline practices (e.g., Glatz & Buchanan, 2015a; for a review, see Jones & Prinz, 2005). Yet,

distal control beliefs may also be important for parenting behaviors. In two studies, higher

distal control beliefs were linked to less perceived stress among parents of young children

(Jackson, 2000; Raikes & Thomson, 2005), which might encourage closer parent–child

relationships and more consistent discipline. More specifically, a sense of gr eater control

over their lives may give parents confidence that their behaviors may impact their

Fam. Proc., Vol. 57, June, 2018

LIPPOLD, GLATZ, FOSCO, & FEINBERG

/

433