KMAN Publication Inc. (KMANPUB) Applied Family Therapy Journal (AFTJ) 3041-8798 6 Serial Number 25 2025 01 01 Parental Overcontrol and Adolescent Social Withdrawal: The Mediating Role of Fear of Evaluation Parental Overcontrol and Adolescent Social Withdrawal: The Mediating Role of Fear of Evaluation 196 204 10.61838/kman.aftj.6.1.20 EN Journal Article 2024 11 03 <p><strong>Objective:</strong> This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental overcontrol and adolescent social withdrawal, with fear of negative and positive evaluation as potential mediating variables.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>The research employed a descriptive correlational design and included a sample of 551 Nigerian adolescents selected based on the Morgan and Krejcie table. Data were collected using standardized self-report instruments: the Psychological Control Scale–Youth Self-Report (PCS-YSR) for parental overcontrol, the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), the Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPES), and the Withdrawn/Depressed subscale of the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated using SPSS-27, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted via AMOS-21 to examine direct and indirect pathways among the variables.</p> <p><strong>Findings: </strong>Pearson correlation analysis showed that parental overcontrol was significantly associated with fear of negative evaluation (r = .51, p &lt; .001), fear of positive evaluation (r = .47, p &lt; .001), and social withdrawal (r = .42, p &lt; .001). SEM results confirmed that the structural model had good fit indices (χ² = 146.23, df = 84, χ²/df = 1.74, CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.041). Parental overcontrol had significant direct effects on fear of negative evaluation (β = .51, p &lt; .001), fear of positive evaluation (β = .48, p &lt; .001), and social withdrawal (β = .27, p &lt; .001). Both fears significantly predicted social withdrawal (FNE: β = .45, p &lt; .001; FPE: β = .38, p &lt; .001). Indirect effects of parental overcontrol on social withdrawal via FNE (B = 0.19, p &lt; .001) and FPE (B = 0.14, p &lt; .001) were also significant.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings highlight that fear of evaluation—both negative and positive—serves as a psychological mechanism linking parental overcontrol to social withdrawal in adolescents, emphasizing the importance of addressing cognitive-affective vulnerabilities in preventive and therapeutic interventions.</p> https://journals.kmanpub.com/index.php/aftj/article/download/3984/6831