The Effects of Mother’s Covert Narcissism on Psychological Control of a child in Late Childhood: The Mediating Effect of Child-Based Self-Worth and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation

Objectives This study aimed to examine the impact of Mother’s Covert Narcissism on Psychological Control over their children in late childhood and to identify the mediating roles of Child-Based Self-Worth and Emotional Regulation Difficulties. Methods To achieve this, data from 329 mothers raising children aged 11 to 13 were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 and SPSS PROCESS Macro (ver. 3.5). Results First, Mother’s Covert Narcissism, Psychological Control, Child-Based Self-Worth, and Emotional Regulation Difficulties all showed significant positive correlations. Second, Mother’s Covert Narcissism directly influenced Psychological Control over their children, while also exerting an indirect effect through the mediating variables of child-involved self-worth and Emotional Regulation Difficulties. Third, it was confirmed that Child-Based Self-Worth and Emotional Regulation Difficulties sequentially mediated the relationship between Mother’s Covert Narcissism and Psychological Control. Conclusions Based on these findings, the study suggests the need to address Mother’s Covert Narcissism, Child-Based Self-Worth, and Emotional regulation in counseling settings to improve and prevent psychologically controlling parenting styles that hinder the development of autonomy in late childhood.