In charge but not in control: The management of teaching relationships by adults with low perceived power.

Abstract

The paradoxical use of punitive force by adults with low perceived power was explored in teaching interactions. Punitive force was measured by the intensity of physical effort used in operating controls that displayed negative feedback to child trainees. Women who differed in perceived power were assigned to (a) situations in which they had high, low, or ambiguous control and (b) responsive, unresponsive, or ambiguously responsive children. Women with low perceived power--when given ambiguous control--were more likely than other women to (a) use high levels of punitive force and (b) show elevated levels of autonomic arousal. Arousal, in turn, partially mediated the relationship between perceived power and use of force. Women with low perceived power were also more likely to attribute intentionality to children whose behavior was ambiguous. Results were interpreted as having implications for violence within adult-child relationships.

Over-time associations among parental self-efficacy, promotive parenting practices, and adolescents’ externalizing behaviors.

“…Additionally, similar results have been shown using other parental competence measures. For example, difficult child and adolescent behaviors have been linked to parents' feelings of powerlessness (e.g., Bugental, Lewis, Lin, Lyon, & Kopeikin, 1999;Glatz & Stattin, 2013;Glatz, Stattin, & Kerr, 2011).…”

Parents’ Reactions to Youths’ Hyperactivity, Impulsivity, and Attention Problems

“…In contrast, high perceived power is expected to buffer against negative parenting behaviors. Bugental and colleagues have shown that parents who see themselves as having little power respond to difficult child behaviors with more negative feedback in adult-child interaction tests (Bugental et al 1999) and tend to use more abusive or coercive disciplinary strategies (Bugental et al 1989a) than parents with higher levels of perceived power. Thus, these results show that parents' attributions about their power or lack thereof may be critically important when explaining why parents behave negatively toward children.…”

Parenting Cognitions Associated with the Use of Psychological Control

“…There has been some emphasis on concerns about interpersonal power (Bugental & Happaney, 2000;Grusec et al, 1994). Bugental and colleagues (Bugental, Blue, & Cruzcosa, 1989;Bugental, Lewis, Lin, Lyon, & Kopeikin, 1999) suggest that parents who perceive themselves as lacking interpersonal power are chronically vigilant to threats to their power and inclined to react with an exaggerated use of control in response to child behavior when characteristics of the child or the situation prime the perception of low power. They feel anxious about losing control over their child's behavior and are defensively inclined to avoid self-blame by negatively interpreting the child's behavior.…”