The Intergenerational Transmission of Perfectionism: Parents' Psychological Control as an Intervening Variable.

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of parental (adaptive and maladaptive) intrapersonal perfectionism as a predictor of parental psychological control and the role of parents' psychological control in the intergenerational transmission of perfectionism in a sample of female late adolescents and their parents. First, parental maladaptive perfectionism, but not parental adaptive perfectionism, significantly predicted parents' psychological control even when controlling for parents' neuroticism. This relationship was found to be stronger for fathers than for mothers. Second, a significant direct relationship was found between mothers' and daughters' maladaptive perfectionism but not between fathers' and daughters' maladaptive perfectionism. Third, process analyses showed that, for both mothers and fathers, psychological control is an intervening variable in the relationship between parents' and daughters' maladaptive perfectionism.

Impact of parental emotional support and coercive control on adolescents' self‐esteem and psychological distress: Results of a four‐year longitudinal study

“…In most studies, adolescents' self-esteem has been positively associated with perceived parental emotional support (Breton et al, 1999;DeHart, Pelham, & Tennen, 2006;Herz & Gullone, 1999) and negatively associated with perceived parental coercive control (Aquilino & Supple, 2001;DeHart, et al, 2006;Herz & Gullone, 1999;Soenens, Vansteenkiste, Luyten, Duriez, & Goossens, 2005). Moreover, McKinney, Milone andRenk (2011) andMilevsky, Schlechter, Netter andKeehn (2007) report that a democratic parenting style, generally characterized by a high level of emotional support and adequate control (Baumrind, 1991(Baumrind, , 1996, is associated with higher self-esteem among adolescents and young adults.…”

“…Without addressing the specific concept of psychological distress, several researchers have found a relation between coercive control and symptoms of depression and anxiety among adolescents (e.g., Barber & Harmon, 2002;Soenens et al, 2005). For example, Aquilino and Supple (2001) found that the presence of parental coercive control in adolescence was associated with an increased incidence of depressive symptoms in young adults.…”

The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds

“…[72][73][74][75][76][77] Other studies have linked this perfectionism with highly critical parents who instill pressures to excel. [78][79][80][81][82] Perfectionism is challenging to the individual and has a broader effect on society because it may stifle creativity and unencumbered thinking. 83 There are no longitudinal studies that directly link intense preparation for adulthood during childhood to this rise in mental health needs, and there certainly are other causes, but some experts believe today's pressured lifestyle is an important contributor.…”

Autonomy and Autonomy Disturbances in Self‐Development and Psychopathology: Research on Motivation, Attachment, and Clinical Process

“…In this frame one can view self-critical depression as a chronic and pervasive state of ego-involvement in which one continuously fails to live up to the demands and is thus punished. Unfortunately, self-critical perfectionism appears to get transmitted from the one generation to the other through controlling parenting (Assor et al, 2004;Soenens, Elliot, et al, 2005). Presumably, the contingent love self-critical perfectionists display vis-à-vis their own functioning gets projected onto their children, such that children experience their parents as displaying conditional regard, which subsequently affects their own functioning.…”