Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Maternal psychological control and preschoolers’ aggression: The joint moderating roles of temperamental reactivity and gender

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the association between maternal psychological control and preschoolers’ aggression via examining the moderating roles of preschoolers’ temperamental reactivity and gender. Participants included 228 Chinese preschoolers (35.52 ~ 83.88 months, Mage = 57 months, SD = 14.16 months, 128 boys), their mothers (72.1% had an education degree below high school), and teachers (females with a bachelor’s or associate’s degree). Mothers rated the levels of their psychological control and preschoolers’ temperamental reactivity, and teachers reported relational and overt aggression. Results showed that the association between maternal psychological control and preschoolers’ overt aggression was moderated by preschoolers’ temperamental reactivity and gender. Concretely, maternal psychological control was consistently related to girls’ overt aggression regardless of their temperamental reactivity. While in boys, this relationship was moderated by their temperamental reactivity. Maternal psychological control was only correlated with overt aggression of the highly reactive boys. However, maternal psychological control was not associated with preschoolers’ relational aggression regardless of their temperamental reactivity and gender. These findings highlight the importance of taking preschoolers’ temperamental reactivity and gender into account when delineating the link between maternal psychological control and preschoolers’ aggression.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

The datasets generated for this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  • Barber, B. K., & Harmon, E. L. (2002). Violating the self: Parental psychological control of children and adolescents. In B. K. Barber (Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents (pp. 15–52). American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2009). Beyond diathesis stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Psychological Bulletin, 135(6), 885–908. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017376

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (2007). For better and for worse: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 300–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00525.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkowitz, L. (1989). Frustration-aggression hypothesis: Examination and reformulation. Psychological Bulletin, 106(1), 59–73. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.106.1.59

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brotman, L. M., Gouley, K. K., Huang, K., Rosenfelt, A., O’Neal, C., Klein, R. G., & Shrout, P. (2008). Preventive intervention for preschoolers at high risk for antisocial behavior: Long-term effects on child physical aggression and parenting practices. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37(2), 386–396. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374410801955813

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burk, L. R., Armstrong, J. M., Goldsmith, H. H., Klein, M. H., Strauman, T. J., Costanzo, P., & Essex, M. J. (2011). Sex, temperament, and family context: How the interaction of early factors differentially predict adolescent alcohol use and are mediated by proximal adolescent factors. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 25(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022349

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera, N. J., Volling, B. L., & Barr, R. (2018). Fathers are parents, too! Widening the lens on parenting for children’s development. Child Development Perspectives, 12(3), 152–157. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, X., & Chen, X. (2012). Study on the relationship between inhibitory control and aggressive behavior of left-behind children aged 3–5 years. Chinese Journal of Special Education, (06), 45–49.

  • Casas, J. F., Weigel, S. M., Crick, N. R., Ostrov, J. M., Woods, K. E., Yeh, E. A. J., & Huddleston-Casas, C. A. (2006). Early parenting and children’s relational and physical aggression in the preschool and home contexts. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27(3), 209–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2006.02.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y., Zhu, J., Yu, C., Wang, M., Zhu, Y., & Zhang, W. (2019). The explanatory mechanism of child impulsivity in the bidirectional associations between parental psychological control and child physical aggression. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(7), 2039–2050. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01650-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crick, N. R., Casas, J. F., & Mosher, M. (1997). Relational and overt aggression in preschool. Developmental Psychology, 33(4), 579–588. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.33.4.579

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Curtindale, L., Laurie-Rose, C., Bennett-Murphy, L., & Hull, S. (2007). Sensory modality, temperament, and the development of sustained attention: A vigilance study in children and adults. Developmental Psychology, 43(3), 576–589. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.3.576

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diaconu-Gherasim, L. R., & Duca, D. S. (2017). Parent–adolescent attachment and interpersonal relationships in sports teams: Exploring the gender differences. Gender Issues, 35(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-017-9190-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsworth, G. R., Beauchamp, A., & Osborne, R. H. (2016). Measuring health literacy in community agencies: A Bayesian study of the factor structure and measurement invariance of the health literacy questionnaire (HLQ). BMC Health Services Research, 16(1), 508–508. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1754-2

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03193146

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, X., Yan, R., Fang, X., & Xing, S. (2021). Intrusive psychological control and children’s behaviors in Chinese multigenerational families: Role of children’s temperamental reactivity. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 31(9), 2582–2593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02048-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gower, A. L., Lingras, K. A., Mathieson, L. C., Kawabata, Y., & Crick, N. R. (2014). The role of preschool relational and physical aggression in the transition to kindergarten: Links with social-psychological adjustment. Early Education and Development, 25(5), 619–640. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2014.844058

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, C. H., Nelson, D. A., Olsen, C. R. C., McNeilly-Choque, S. F., Porter, M. K., C. L., & Mckee, T. R. (2000). Russian parenting styles and family processes: Linkages with subtypes of victimization and aggression. In K. A. Kerns, J. M. Contreras, & A. M. Neal-Barnett (Eds.), Family and peers: Linking two social worlds (pp. 47–84). Praeger Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, C. H., Nelson, D. A., Robinson, C. C., Olsen, S. F., & McNeilly-Choque, M. K. (1998). Overt and relational aggression in russian nursery-school-age children: Parenting style and marital linkages. Developmental Psychology, 34(4), 687–697. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.34.4.687

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2006). A primer on multilevel modeling. Human Communication Research, 32(4), 385–410. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2006.00281.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huston, A. C. (1983). Sex-typing. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Socialization, personality, and social development, (Vol. 4, pp. 387–467). Wiley.

  • Kawabata, Y., Alink, L. R. A., Tseng, W. L., van Ijzendoorn, M. H., & Crick, N. R. (2011). Maternal and paternal parenting styles associated with relational aggression in children and adolescents: A conceptual analysis and meta-analytic review. Developmental Review, 31(4), 240–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2011.08.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khoury-Kassabri, M., Zadok, I., Eseed, R., & Alexander, T., V (2020). Individual and familial factors as mediators and moderators of young children’s aggressive behavior. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, 105428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koçak, A., Mouratidis, A., Sayıl, M., Kındap-Tepe, Y., & Uçanok, Z. (2017). Interparental conflict and adolescents’ relational aggression and loneliness: The mediating role of maternal psychological control. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(12), 3546–3558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0854-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandara, J., & Pikes, C. L. (2008). Guilt trips and love withdrawal: Does mothers’ use of psychological control predict depressive symptoms among African American adolescents? Family Relations, 57(5), 602–612. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00526.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morpeth, L., Blower, S., Tobin, K., Taylor, R. S., Bywater, T., Edwards, R. T., Axford, N., Lehtonen, M., Jones, C., & Berry, V. (2017). The effectiveness of the incredible years pre-school parenting programme in the United Kingdom: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Child Care in Practice: Northern Ireland Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Child Care Practice, 23(2), 141–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2016.1264366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, N. V., Degnan, K. A., Hane, A. A., Fox, N. A., & Chronis-Tuscano, A. (2019). Infant temperament reactivity and early maternal caregiving: Independent and interactive links to later childhood attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(1), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12934

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murray-Close, D., Nelson, D., Ostrov, J., Casas, J., & Crick, N. (2016). Relational aggression: A developmental psychopathology perspective. In D. Cicchetti & D. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 4. Risk, resilience, and intervention (3rd ed., pp. 660–722). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119125556.devpsy413

  • Muthén, B. O., & Muthén, L. K. (1998–2012). Mplus user’s guide (7th ed.). Muthén & Muthén.

  • National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2018). China Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistical Publishing House. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2017/indexch.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, D. A., Hart, C. H., Yang, C., Olsen, J. A., & Jin, S. (2006). Aversive parenting in China: Associations with child physical and relational aggression. Child Development, 77(3), 554–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00890.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, D. A., Yang, C., Coyne, S. M., Olsen, J. A., & Hart, C. H. (2013). Parental psychological control dimensions: Connections with Russian preschoolers’ physical and relational aggression. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 34(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2012.07.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Netsi, E., van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Wulff, K., Jansen, P. W., Jaddoe, V. W. V., Verhulst, F. C., Tiemeier, H., & Ramchandani, P. G. (2015). Does infant reactivity moderate the association between antenatal maternal depression and infant sleep? Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 36(6), 440–449. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000181

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, S. F., Yang, C., Hart, C. H., Robinson, C. C., Wu, P., Nelson, D. A., Nelson, L. J., Jin, S., & Wo, J. (2002). Maternal psychological control and preschool children’s behavioral outcomes in China, Russia, and the United States. In B. K. Barber (Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents (pp. 235–262). American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrov, J. M., & Crick, N. R. (2007). Forms and functions of aggression during early childhood: A short-term longitudinal study. School Psychology Review, 36(1), 22–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2007.12087950

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Nelson, L. J. (2010). Parenting and adolescents’ values and behaviour: The moderating role of temperament. Journal of Moral Education, 39(4), 491–509. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2010.521385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, H., & Han, S. Y. (2020). Effect of mother’s monitoring and psychological control on adolescents’ aggression: Mediating role of moral disengagement. Korean Journal of Child Studies, 41(4), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5723/kjcs.2020.41.4.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, K. J., Ostrov, J. M., Murray-Close, D., Blakely-McClure, S. J., Kiefer, J., DeJesus-Rodriguez, A., & Wesolowski, A. (2021). Measurement of aggressive behavior in early childhood: A critical analysis using five informants. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 209, 105180–105180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105180

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poehlmann, J., Hane, A., Burnson, C., Maleck, S., Hamburger, E., & Shah, P. E. (2012). Preterm infants who are prone to distress: Differential effects of parenting on 36-month behavioral and cognitive outcomes: Preterm infants and differential susceptibility. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(10), 1018–1025. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02564.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rioux, C., Castellanos-Ryan, N., Parent, S., & Séguin, J. R. (2016). The interaction between temperament and the family environment in adolescent substance use and externalizing behaviors: Support for diathesis–stress or differential susceptibility? Developmental Review, 40, 117–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2016.03.003

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, A. A., Memmott-Elison, M. K., Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Byon, J. (2019). Perceived parental psychological control predicts intraindividual decrements in self-regulation throughout adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 55(11), 2352–2364. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000818

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., & Bates, J. E. (2006). Temperament in children’s development. In W. Damon, R. Lerner & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology, 6th edition: Social, emotional, and personality development, (Vol. 3), (pp. 99–166). Wiley.

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Basic psychological needs theory satisfaction and frustration of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in relation to psychological wellness and full functioning. In R. M. Ryan, & E. L. Deci (Eds.), Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness (pp. 239–271). Guilford Press.

  • Salaam, B., & Mounts, N. S. (2016). International note: Maternal warmth, behavioral control, and psychological control: Relations to adjustment of Ghanaian early adolescents. Journal of Adolescence (London England), 49, 99–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.03.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf, M., & Goldner, L. (2018). “If you really love me, you will do/be… parental psychological control and its implications for children’s adjustment. Developmental Review, 49, 16–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2018.07.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, D. (2013). Future directions for research on the development and prevention of early conduct problems. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42(3), 418–428. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2013.777918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). A theoretical upgrade of the concept of parental psychological control: Proposing new insights on the basis of self-determination theory. Developmental Review, 30(1), 74–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2009.11.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stipek, D., & Miles, S. (2008). Effects of aggression on achievement: Does conflict with the teacher make it worse? Child Development, 79(6), 1721–1735. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01221.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Aken, C., Junger, M., Verhoeven, M., van Aken, M. A. G., & Deković, M. (2007). The interactive effects of temperament and maternal parenting on toddlers’ externalizing behaviours. Infant and Child Development, 16(5), 553–572. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van de Schoot, R., Broere, J. J., Perryck, K. H., Zondervan-Zwijnenburg, M., & van Loey, N. E. (2015). Analyzing small data sets using Bayesian estimation: The case of posttraumatic stress symptoms following mechanical ventilation in burn survivors. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6(1), 25216–25216. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v6.25216

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, M., Zhang, Y., Yu, J., & Xing, X. (2012). Relationship among preschoolers’ anxiety, temperament, and family environment. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 20(3), 371–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W. (2017). Research on the relations between parent-child relationship, teacher-child relationship and young children’s aggressive behaviors (Masters’ thesis, Hubei Normal University). China National Knowledge Internet.

  • Webster-Stratton, C., Reid, M. J., & Hammond, M. (2004). Treating children with early-onset conduct problems: Intervention outcomes for parent, child, and teacher training. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33(1), 105–124. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15374424JCCP3301_11

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xing, S., Gao, X., Song, X., Archer, M., Zhao, D., Zhang, M., Ding, B., & Liu, X. (2017). Chinese preschool children’s socioemotional development: The effects of maternal and paternal psychological control. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1818. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01818

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Xing, S., Zhou, Q., Archer, M., Yue, J., & Wang, Z. (2016). Infant temperamental reactivity, maternal and grandparental sensitivity: Differential susceptibility for behavior problems in China. Early Human Development, 101, 99–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2016.08.014

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, Q., & Wang, J. (2019). Father involvement and its impacts on youth development in China. Journal of Social Development, 6(01), 68–85, 243–244.

  • Yan, F., Zhang, Q., Ran, G., Li, S., & Niu, X. (2020). Relationship between parental psychological control and problem behaviours in youths: A three-level meta-analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 112, 104900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104900

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J. (1995). Test report of NYLS temperament scale for children aged 3–7. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 9(05), 203–205.

  • Zhang, J. (2015). The relationship between aggressive behaviors of preschool children and parental psychological control (Master’s thesis, Hebei Normal University). China National Knowledge Internet.

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program: 32171069).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Xuelin Cheng & Xin Gao these authors contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, No. 23 Bai Dui Zi Jia, HaiDian District, Beijing, 100037, P. R. China

    Xuelin Cheng, Lining Yao & Shufen Xing

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China

    Xin Gao

  3. School of Education, Hebei University, Baoding City, Hebei Province, P. R. China

    Sen Li

Authors
  1. Xuelin Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xin Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sen Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lining Yao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Shufen Xing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by Xuelin Cheng, Xin Gao, and Lining Yao. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Xuelin Cheng and Xin Gao. Subsequent versions were developed in collaboration with Sen Li and Shufen Xing. The final manuscript was read and approved by all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shufen Xing.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

The conduction of this research was in line with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. Approval was granted by the Research Ethics Committee from Capital Normal University. Informed consent was obtained from all participants in the study. Participants were informed that their participation was voluntary and all their responses were private.

Consent to Publish

All authors agree to publish this manuscript.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cheng, X., Gao, X., Li, S. et al. Maternal psychological control and preschoolers’ aggression: The joint moderating roles of temperamental reactivity and gender. Curr Psychol 43, 4062–4072 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04392-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04392-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation