Peer Victimization and Parental Psychological Control in Adolescence

With a sample of 831 U.S. adolescents (49% girls) followed from 9th to 11th grade, the directionality of the association between
school-based peer victimization and adolescents’ perception of their parents’ psychological control were examined. Possible
mediating influences of internalizing symptoms were also explored. The results highlight the relevance of adolescent-to-parent
influences during adolescence by demonstrating that physical peer victimization was predictive of increases in mother’s psychological
control but parental psychological control did not predict subsequent peer victimization. These direct effects were present
above and beyond the contribution of adolescent internalizing symptoms to higher parental psychological control. Practical
implications of the primacy of adolescent-to-parent influences in predicting the social adjustment of victims of peer harassment
are discussed.