This article argues for the value in socialization research of focusing explicitly on the construct of parental psychological control of children--control that constrains, invalidates, and manipulates children's psychological and emotional experience and expression. The article traces the history of the construct and distinguishes psychological control theoretically and empirically from more behaviorally oriented control. 2 new measures of psychological control are developed. Data from 3 separate studies are presented which indicate that psychological control can be adequately measured across demographically varied samples and mode of measurement. In both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, psychological control, particularly as perceived by preadolescents and adolescents, is consistently predictive of youth internalized problems (depression) and, in some cases, externalized problems (delinquency). In contrast, behavioral control is related primarily to externalized problems.

Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct.

Although the merits of parents using corporal punishment to discipline children have been argued for decades, a thorough understanding of whether and how corporal punishment affects children has not been reached. Toward this end, the author first presents the results of meta-analyses of the association between parental corporal punishment and 11 child behaviors and experiences. Parental corporal punishment was associated with all child constructs, including higher levels of immediate compliance and aggression and lower levels of moral internalization and mental health. The author then presents a process– context model to explain how parental corporal punishment might cause particular child outcomes and considers alternative explanations. The article concludes by identifying 7 major remaining issues for future

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Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review.

We focus on everyday role transitions involving home, work, and other places. Transitions are boundary-crossing activities, where one exits and enters roles by surmounting role boundaries. Roles can be arrayed on a continuum, spanning high segmentation to high integration. Segmentation decreases role blurring but increases the magnitude of change, rendering boundary crossing more difficult; crossing often is facilitated by rites of passage. Integration decreases the magnitude of change but increases blurring, rendering boundary creation and maintenance more difficult; this challenge often is surmounted by boundary work.

All in a Day'S Work: Boundaries and Micro Role Transitions

This report builds on a highly valued predecessor, the 1994 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report entitled Reducing Risks for Mental Disorders: Frontiers for Preventive Intervention Research. That report provided the basis for understanding prevention science, elucidating its then-existing research base, and contemplating where it should go in the future. This report documents that an increasing number of mental, emotional, and behavioral problems in young people are in fact preventable. The proverbial ounce of prevention will indeed be worth a pound of cure: effectively applying the evidence-based prevention interventions at hand could potentially save billions of dollars in associated costs by avoiding or tempering these disorders in many individuals. Furthermore, devoting significantly greater resources to research on even more effective prevention and promotion efforts, and then reliably implementing the findings of such research, could substantially diminish the human and economic toll.

Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities

What are the positive and negative consequences of telecommuting? How do these consequences come about? When are these consequences more or less potent? The authors answer these questions through construction of a theoretical framework and meta-analysis of 46 studies in natural settings involving 12,883 employees. Telecommuting had small but mainly beneficial effects on proximal outcomes, such as perceived autonomy and (lower) work–family conflict. Importantly, telecommuting had no generally detrimental effects on the quality of workplace relationships. Telecommuting also had beneficial effects on more distal outcomes, such as job satisfaction, performance, turnover intent, and role stress. These beneficial consequences appeared to be at least partially mediated by perceived autonomy. Also, high-intensity telecommuting (more than 2.5 days a week) accentuated telecommuting’s beneficial effects on work–family conflict but harmed relationships with coworkers. Results provide building blocks for a more complete theoretical and practical treatment of telecommuting.

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The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences.

Family Relationships and Adolescent Pregnancy Risk: A Research Synthesis

Millions of employees now use portable electronic tools to do their jobs from a “virtual office” with extensive flexibility in the timing and location of work. However, little scholarly research exists about the effects of this burgeoning work form. This study of IBM employees explored influences of the virtual office on aspects of work and work/life balance as reported by virtual office teleworkers (n = 157) and an equivalent group of traditional office workers (n= 89). Qualitative analyses revealed the perception of greater productivity, higher morale, increased flexibility and longer work hours due to telework, as well as an equivocal influence on work/life balance and a negative influence on teamwork. Using a quasi-experimental design, quantitative multivariate analyses supported the qualitative findings related to productivity, flexibility and work/life balance. However, multivariate analyses failed to support the qualitative findings for morale, teamwork and work hours. This study highlights the need for a multi-method approach, including both qualitative and quantitative elements, when studying telework.

Influences of The Virtual Office on Aspects of Work and Work/Life Balance

Studies of adolescent pregnancy risk are relevant to understanding responsible adolescent sexual behavior because most investigators have focused on the key proximal determinants of pregnancy--sexual intercourse and contraceptive use--rather than analyzing pregnancy status per se. Lesser pregnancy risk is associated with teens remaining sexually abstinent, postponing onset of intercourse, and having intercourse less often or with fewer partners, as well as by using contraception at first or most recent intercourse and by using contraception consistently over time. Living with a single parent, in a lower SES family, having older sexually active siblings or pregnant/parenting teenage sisters, being a victim of sexual abuse, and residing in disorganized/dangerous neighborhoods all place teens at elevated risk of adolescent pregnancy. Parent-child closeness or connectedness, and parental supervision or regulation of children, in combination with parents values against teen intercourse (or unprotected intercourse), decrease the risk of adolescent pregnancy. Studies about parent-child sexual communication and adolescent pregnancy risk are less conclusive, largely because of methodological complexities.

Family influences on adolescent sexual and contraceptive behavior

Using Add Health data, the authors provide evidence that some adolescents gave inaccurate and/or invalid responses on a self-administered questionnaire. Further analyses show that these adolescents were much more likely to report extreme levels on psychosocial and behavioral outcome variables. A distinction was made between inaccurate responders (e.g., inaccurate/false responses due to carelessness or confusion) and jokesters (e.g., intentional false responses). The findings show that the jokesters showed considerably more pronounced distorting effects on some psychosocial and behavioral outcome variables than the inaccurate responders did. The authors suggest that although this jokester effect may not seriously bias the results in studies that focus on large groups, for research focusing on some special subgroups (e.g., adoption groups, immigrant groups, disability groups), this effect could pose a serious challenge for the validity of research findings.

An Exploratory Study about Inaccuracy and Invalidity in Adolescent Self-Report Surveys

For a large majority of married adults one of the sharpest expected changes is the transition to parenthood. Although pregnancy is a harbinger, the roles and tasks of parenting are acquired abruptly. As soon as the first infant is born, and certainly by the time parents go home from the hospital, they have parental roles—there are social expectations about what they should do. By comparison, later normative changes during the parental career occur much more gradually as children become toddlers, schoolchildren, teenagers, and then leave home. There is, then, a point in time when parental roles are abruptly acquired, but there is also a more gradual transition into the skills and routines of parenting. Although the transition to parenthood is considered a “critical role transition point,” it is also a phase or span of time.1

Brent C. Miller

Papers

Family Relationships and Adolescent Pregnancy Risk: A Research Synthesis

Influences of The Virtual Office on Aspects of Work and Work/Life Balance

Family influences on adolescent sexual and contraceptive behavior

An Exploratory Study about Inaccuracy and Invalidity in Adolescent Self-Report Surveys

Normal Stresses during the Transition to Parenthood.