Parental Psychological Control and Bullying Victimization in Chinese Adolescents: Roles of Deviant Peer Affiliation and Self-Compassion

Background: Bullying victimization (BV) represents a critical public health concern among Chinese adolescents, with significant implications for psychological well-being. Although accumulating evidence underscores the detrimental association between maladaptive parenting practices and increased bullying victimization, the precise mediating mechanisms linking parental psychological control (PPC) to BV remain inadequately elucidated. This study addresses this gap by examining pathways through which PPC and deviant peer affiliation (DPA) jointly influence BV, while accounting for the protective role of self-compassion (SC). Methods: A sample of 861 Chinese adolescents (429 male; mean age = 14.08 years, SD = 1.07) recruited via a convenience sampling method completed validated self-report measures assessing PPC, DPA, SC, and BV frequency. Results: PPC is significantly associated with higher levels of BV (β = 0.268, p < 0.001). Crucially, structural equation modeling revealed that DPA partially mediated this relationship (β = 0.043, p < 0.01), indicating that PPC is positively associated with BV, and this association is mediated by DPA. Further moderation analyses identified SC as a buffering factor (β = −0.077, SE = 0.038, p < 0.05): Only adolescents with lower SC exhibited strengthened indirect effects of PPC on BV via DPA. This suggests SC mitigates the pathway from coercive parenting to risky peer associations. Conclusion: These findings contribute novel insights into multifaceted risk and protective factors for BV. PPC appears to function as a distal familial factor associated with adolescents’ victimization experiences through peer-related processes, whereas SC emerges as an intrapersonal resilience-related factor. The study underscores the adverse consequences of psychologically controlling parenting and provides empirical support for targeted interventions.