Parents’ Psychological Control over Learning Autonomy of High School Students

Shenzhen Fourward Education and Development Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, 518000, China

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Abstract

This study focuses on how parental psychological control would affect the learning autonomy of high school students. An online questionnaire survey lasting from August 20, 2025, to August 31, 2025, was carried out among public high schools and private international high schools in Shenzhen, China. Participants are 182 students from grades 9 to 12(89 boys; 93 girls; mean age=16.5; SD=1.08). The credible Parental Psychological Control Scale and Learning Autonomy Scale were employed. Results predicted a positive correlation between parental psychological control and learning autonomy of high school students (r=0.234, p<0.01). The regression analysis showed that the independent variable of parental psychological control does have a slight effect on high school students’ learning autonomy as the dependent variable (B=0.107, t=3.229, p=0.001<0.01, r²=0.055). Despite the fact that parental psychological control is perceived or proven to be an intrusive parenting style that might impair children’s autonomy, this study provided a new insight, which, to some extent, could be possibly attributed to Chinese family culture that emphasizes relatedness rather than individualism, the educational background of participants’ parents, and the special characteristics of high school students