Pathways and Practical Exploration of the Impact of Parental Psychological Control and Coping Styles on Life Satisfaction Among High School Students

To examine the impact of parental psychological control on high school students' life satisfaction and to test the mediating role of students' coping styles, this study surveyed first-year high school students (Class of 2024) at a high school in Tianjin using the Parental Psychological Control Scale, the Adolescent Coping Style Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale. The results revealed that: (1) Significant differences were found in dimensions of parental psychological control, coping styles, and life satisfaction across various demographic variables; (2) Parental psychological control negatively predicted students' life satisfaction; (3) Problem-focused coping styles negatively predicted life satisfaction, whereas emotion-focused coping styles positively predicted life satisfaction; (4) Both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping styles played mediating roles between parental psychological control and life satisfaction. The results show that parents' psychological control has a negative impact on the life satisfaction of high school students and regulates their life satisfaction through different coping styles of high school students.