AI Insight
This study examined how matching or mismatching levels of parental involvement from mothers and fathers relate to adolescents' sense of internal control over their lives. Analyzing data from 680 adolescents, researchers found that when both parents had low involvement, adolescents reported higher internal locus of control than when both parents were highly involved. In mismatched scenarios, adolescents showed higher internal locus of control when fathers were highly involved but mothers had low involvement, compared to the reverse pattern.
Why it matters
These findings challenge assumptions that high parental involvement from both parents is always beneficial, suggesting that excessive dual parental involvement may actually reduce adolescents' sense of personal agency. The results indicate that parenting strategies should consider potential tradeoffs between involvement and fostering independence, with paternal involvement appearing particularly influential in promoting internal locus of control.
This study analyzes the effects of congruence and incongruence in paternal and maternal involvement on adolescents’ internal locus of control. A sample of 680 adolescents was assessed using the Parental Involvement Behavior Questionnaire and the Internal Locus of Control Scale, and response surface analyses were conducted. Results revealed that: (1) Under conditions of parental involvement congruence, adolescents exhibited significantly higher levels of internal locus of control in low paternal–low maternal involvement dyads compared to high paternal–high maternal involvement dyads. (2) Under conditions of parental involvement incongruence, adolescents demonstrated higher internal locus of control in high paternal–low maternal involvement dyads versus low paternal–high maternal involvement dyads. The findings indicate that dual-high parental involvement is associated with lower internal locus of control compared to low-low involvement, while higher paternal involvement in high paternal–low maternal configurations correlates with higher internal locus of control.