Development of a Maternal Psychological Control Scale: a Study With Turkish University Students

Abstract

In the last few decades, parental control has received significant attention from scholars. In particular, much work has been dedicated to understanding psychological control, which is parental control intruding on the child's emotional and psychological development. This study aimed to develop a maternal psychological control scale (MPCS) and to test its psychometric properties in a sample of Turkish university students. Data were collected from two separate samples comprising a total of 425 participants. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed in Study Sample 1(215) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using Study Sample 2 (210) to verify the parental manipulation and disregard dimensions of the proposed scale. The findings revealed supportive evidence for two dimensions of the 18-item MPCS. The bivariate correlations revealed that the MPCS scores were moderately and positively correlated with loneliness scores, and those from an existing psychological control scale; however, they were negatively correlated with behavioral control and self-esteem scores. The MPCS developed in this study can be utilized by researchers, clinicians, and educators as an efficient instrument to assess emerging adults' perceived psychological control. Overall, this study contributes to practitioners and researchers in the way that perceived parental psychological control is assessed in a wide range of populations.