Still worried? Parental control and academic competence as antecedents of middle school students' post-transition worries

Abstract

This study examined whether parental psychological control reported by children before the transition to middle school, in the second semester of the fourth grade, is associated with children's worries after the transition to middle school, in the first semester of the fifth grade. We also evaluated the mediating role of children's post-transition perceived academic competence and the moderating role of physical transition (changing schools) on these relations. 370 Romanian early adolescents participated at both time points, with 30% of them having changed schools. Path analysis showed that the relation between children's perceptions of dependency-oriented psychological control and post-transition worries was mediated by academic competence and moderated by physical transition. Educational and counseling implications are discussed.