The relations of Arab Jordanian adolescents' perceived maternal parenting to teacher-rated adjustment and problems: The intervening role of perceived need satisfaction.

Abstract

Although the effects of important parenting dimensions, such as responsiveness and psychological control, are well documented among Western populations, research has only recently begun to systematically identify psychological processes that may account for the cross-cultural generalization of these effects. A first aim of this study was to examine whether perceived maternal responsiveness and psychological control would relate differentially to teacher ratings of adolescent adjustment in a vertical-collectivist society (i.e., Jordan). The most important aim of this study was to examine, on the basis of self-determination theory, whether these associations would be accounted for by perceived satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Results in a large sample of Jordanian adolescents (N = 545) showed that perceived maternal psychological control and responsiveness yielded, respectively, a positive and negative association with teacher-rated problems, whereas psychological control was negatively related to teacher-rated adjustment. Further, these 2 parenting dimensions related to adjustment and problems via perceived satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy and competence (but not relatedness). The findings are discussed in light of the ongoing debate between universalistic and relativistic perspectives on parenting and adolescent adjustment.

Trait Emotional Intelligence as Mediator Between Psychological Control and Behaviour Problems

“…Parcelling was used to ensure that we would have enough observations per estimated parameter, and to obtain the optimal number of three indicators per factor (Little et al 2002). In addition, parcelling has several advantages in the modelling of latent variables, relative to the use of individual items (Little et al 2002;Marsh et al 1998) and is a widely used procedure for both parental psychological control (e.g., Ahmad et al 2013;Costa et al 2014c) and internalising and externalising problems (e.g., Calvete 2007;Fontaine et al 2008). The indicators of the latent variable for trait EI were the four trait EI factors (well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability) plus two components (adaptability and self-motivation; see Petrides and Furnham 2001).…”

Parenting Dimensions and Internalizing Difficulties in Italian and U.S. Emerging Adults: The Intervening Role of Autonomy and Relatedness

“…Although most scholars have examined the direct associations between parental control, autonomy support and children's difficulties, findings from some studies suggest that other variables can serve an intervening role in these relations (Ahmad et al 2013;Blatt 2004;Costa et al 2014;Soenens et al 2007Soenens et al , 2009. Inclusion of intervening variables allow for the examination of the mechanism through which parenting dimensions are related to children's internalizing problems.…”

“…In another study, Soenens et al (2007) observed that self-determination was a mediator in the association between PAS and adjustment. Moreover, Ahmad et al (2013) found that perceived maternal psychological control and responsiveness was related to Jordanian adolescents' adjustment through the perceived satisfaction of their basic psychological needs for autonomy and competence (but not relatedness). Costa et al (2014) also reported that the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence mediated the association between both maternal and paternal ratings of psychological control and internalizing distress among Italian college students.…”

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

“…To promote autonomy need satisfaction and subsequent internalization, the use of control has been found to be harmful, whereas provision of autonomy support has been shown to be critical, a finding that generalizes across cultures (e.g., Ahmad, Vansteenkiste, & Soenens, 2013;Barber, Stolz, & Olsen, 2005;Chirkov et al, 2011;Jang et al, 2009). There are many elements to autonomy support, but they all start from an empathic grasping of an individual's perspective so as to better understand why the person refuses to engage in the noninteresting activity.…”