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Issues and Challenges in Studying Parental Control: Toward a New Conceptualization
Author(s) -
Grolnick Wendy S.,
Pomerantz Eva M.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
child development perspectives
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1750-8606
pISSN - 1750-8592
DOI - 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2009.00099.x
Subject(s) - conceptualization , psychology , control (management) , socialization , confusion , construct (python library) , context (archaeology) , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , social psychology , computer science , psychoanalysis , artificial intelligence , paleontology , biology , programming language
— Although investigators have long considered parents’ exertion of control over children as a central part of the socialization process, the study of control has been marked by conceptual and empirical confusion. This article outlines some of the history of the construct of control in the context of parenting, delineating the development of the contemporary approach that distinguishes among multiple forms of control. It proposes a refinement of this approach such that only parenting characterized by pressure, intrusion, and domination should be considered control, whereas parenting frequently labeled control but characterized mainly by guidance should be considered structure. This article highlights the benefits of distinguishing between these two dimensions of parenting rather than multiple forms of control.