A continuum of parenting defined at one pole by
permissiveness and at the other by
restrictive control. Intermediate between these poles are
moderate control and
firm control, which are sometimes combined to form
flexible control. Conceptually, behavioral control has two components: (1) the extent to which parents place limits or restrictions on their children's behavior (i.e., the extent to which parents use directives requiring compliance, make demands, and establish family or household rules). Behavioral control also pertains to (2) the extent to which parents insist on compliance with these proscriptions and prescriptions. The concept of behavioral control does not refer to the methods or techniques parents use to enforce compliance with their proscriptions and prescriptions. This latter issue deals with styles of parental discipline (e.g.,
physical punishment). In
PARTheory research, behavioral control is measured most often by the Parental Control Scale
(
PCS) or by scores on the control scale of the
PARQ/Control.
