ORIGINAL ARTICLE Perceived Psychological Control and Anxiety in Early Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Attributional Style Jessica L. Schleider • Clorinda E. Ve ´lez • Elizabeth D. Krause • Jane Gillham Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 Abstract Research indicates that perceived parental control is a risk factor for anxiety in youth, but mechanisms underlying this connection remain under-examined. This study examined whether hopeless attributional style mediates this relationship, as well as whether this rela- tionship is moderated by gender, in early adolescents (N = 116, ages 10–14). We assessed two hypotheses: (1) that hopeless attributional style would mediate the rela- tionship between perceived maternal psychological control and anxiety symptoms across 1 year, and (2) that this pathway would be stronger for girls than for boys. This study used a three-wave, prospective longitudinal design. Hopelessness was a significant mediator; early adolescents who perceived high rates of maternal psychological control tended to develop a more hopeless attributional style, which in turn predicted increases in anxiety. This effect was not moderated by gender. We discuss implications for treating and preventing anxiety in youth, specifically the need for interventions to address children’s hopeless attri- butions and perceptions of parents’ behaviors. Keywords Anxiety Á Adolescence Á Psychological control Á Attributional style Introduction Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health issues in youth, affecting 8–15 % of children and adolescents each year (Muris and Steerneman 2001; Puskar et al. 2009). Research has emphasized the impact of certain parenting practices on the development of these disorders in youth (Chorpita and Barlow 1998; McGinn et al. 2010; McLeod et al. 2007; Rapee 2001). Especially correlated with youth anxiety are parenting styles marked by high psychological control, characterized by coercive, passive-aggressive, intru- sive strategies to manipulate children’s thoughts, feelings, and activities (Barber 1996; De Man 1986). Theoretical models have hypothesized that high parental psychological control may prevent children from acting independently, reduce children’s abilities to navigate new environments on their own, and increase feelings of hypervigilance and fear while decreasing senses of mastery (Chorpita and Barlow 1998; Rapee 2001). Etiological models of youth anxiety also sug- gest that negative events, such as psychologically controlling parenting, lead to later anxiety through the formation of cognitive styles characterized by a lowered perception of control over events and outcomes (Chorpita and Barlow 1998; Chorpita et al. 1998; McGinn et al. 2010). Few studies have examined these relationships using a longitudinal design or examined the mediating impact of other cognitive styles, such as a pessimistic attributional style, that have also been linked to anxiety (Alloy et al. 1990). By exploring whether other cognitive styles might explain the relations between parenting styles and anxiety, studies may inform efforts to treat and prevent anxiety in youth. J. L. Schleider (&) Psychology Department, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA e-mail: jschleider@fas.harvard.edu C. E. Ve ´lez Á J. Gillham Psychology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA E. D. Krause Psychology Department, University of Pennsylvania, 3720 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA 123 Cogn Ther Res DOI 10.1007/s10608-013-9573-9