A Structural Equation Analysis of Parental Psychological Control, Adolescent Self-Esteem, Emotional Intelligence, and Internalizing Symptoms
Keywords:
Parental psychological control, self-esteem, emotional intelligence, internalizing symptoms, adolescents, structural equation modelingAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the direct and indirect relationships among parental psychological control, adolescent self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and internalizing symptoms using structural equation modeling.
Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among 618 adolescents from public secondary schools in Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. Participants completed standardized self-report measures assessing parental psychological control, self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and internalizing symptoms. Parental psychological control was measured using the Psychological Control Scale–Youth Self-Report, self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, emotional intelligence using the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test, and internalizing symptoms using the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 29 and AMOS version 29. Preliminary analyses included assessment of normality, reliability, convergent validity, and correlations among the study variables. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate the measurement model, followed by structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized direct and indirect pathways. Mediation effects were examined using bootstrap resampling with 5,000 samples and bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals.
Findings: The measurement model demonstrated good fit to the data, χ²/df = 2.08, CFI = .964, TLI = .960, GFI = .923, SRMR = .041, and RMSEA = .042. All hypothesized structural paths were statistically significant. Parental psychological control negatively predicted self-esteem (β = −.56, p < .001) and emotional intelligence (β = −.27, p < .001), while positively predicting internalizing symptoms (β = .31, p < .001). Self-esteem positively predicted emotional intelligence (β = .53, p < .001) and negatively predicted internalizing symptoms (β = −.46, p < .001). Emotional intelligence also negatively predicted internalizing symptoms (β = −.24, p < .001). Bootstrap analysis confirmed significant indirect effects, indicating that self-esteem and emotional intelligence mediated the association between parental psychological control and internalizing symptoms.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that parental psychological control contributes to adolescent internalizing symptoms both directly and indirectly through reduced self-esteem and emotional intelligence. Strengthening adolescents’ self-worth and emotional competencies may reduce the psychological impact of controlling parenting and support healthier emotional adjustment.
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References
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