The Relationship between Adolescents’ perceived Parental Psychological Control and Adolescents’ Social Anxiety: The Mediating Effect of Emotional Suppression

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationships among adolescents’ perceived parental psychological control, emotional suppression, and social anxiety, and to verify the mediating effect of emotional suppression in the relationship between parental psychological control and social anxiety. Methods: The Parental Psychological Control Scale, Emotional Suppression Scale, and Social Anxiety Scale were employed for the analysis. Correlation and mediation analyses were performed using SPSS and the Macro Process program. Results: First, significant positive correlations were found among parental psychological control, emotional suppression, and social anxiety. Second, emotional suppression fully mediated the relationship between parental psychological control and social anxiety. Conclusions: Excessive parental psychological control was found to increase adolescents’ social anxiety by reinforcing emotional suppression. These findings suggest the need for educational and counseling interventions at both home and school to promote healthy emotional expression and prevent social anxiety in adolescents.