The six dimensions of parenting and adolescent psychological adjustment: The mediating role of psychological needs. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 60, 128-137.In accordance with the Self-determination Theory (SDT), six dimensions of parenting (autonomy support vs. psychological control, structure vs. chaos, warmth vs. rejection) could be defined in their relation to adolescents' adjustment. However, the mechanisms of these relations need to be further deepened. In accordance with SDT, the aims of this study were: (1) to examine the relationships between the six dimensions of parenting and the three psychological basic needs; (2) to examine the mediation role of basic psychological needs in the relation between parental practices, and positive and negative outcomes in a sample of Italian adolescents. In a sample of 342 adolescents, results suggest that supportive parenting practice (autonomy support, structure, and warmth) promotes need fulfillment and adjustment, while thwarting parenting practice (psychological control, chaos, and rejection) reduces need fulfillment and adjustment. Furthermore, the three psychological basic needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) mediate the relations between parenting and adolescents' adjustment. These findings highlight the role of parenting in adolescents' adjustment and in line with SDT provide evidence of the dynamic between parenting, psychological needs and adjustment.

Self-determination theory has become a consolidated theoretical framework to deepen the psychological control construct. Numerous studies have widely investigated the consequences of the use of this parenting strategy during the life cycle. Although studies focused on the antecedents of parental psychological control are not so numerous, they provide an interesting picture that needs to be systematized and organized. For this reason, this narra-tive review was aimed at describing the studies on the antecedents of psychological control that used SDT as a theoretical framework. These studies were structured according to three categories: Parental Characteristics (or pressure from within), Child Characteristics (pres-sure from below), and Family Social Environment Characteristics (pressure from above). The results highlighted a wealth of studies in each category and indicating the need to con-tinue this line of studies in the future through the integration of the different types of ante-cedents too.

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