Maternal Psychological Control and Internalizing Problems of Preschool Children/Controle Psicologico Materno e Problemas Internalizantes em Pre-Escolares

The present study investigated relations between maternal psychological control and behavior control and internalizing problems of preschool children, with ages varying between three and five years. Participants in the study were 103 mothers who completed the CBCL and the Child Socialization and Parental Childrearing Practices Structured Interview. The results showed that two of the syndromes representing the group of internalizing problems, anxiety/depression and withdrawal, were positively correlated with critical control, which is a dimension of psychological control. It is possible that maternal critical control limits the socio-emotional development of children and their access to reinforcers, contributing to the emergence of withdrawal and symptoms of anxiety/depression. The relevance of other variables for the understanding of internalizing problems, as emotional socialization practices, is also discussed. Keywords: internalizing problems, maternal control, child development O estudo investigou as relacoes entre o controle psicologico e o controle comportamental materno e os problemas internalizantes de criancas entre 3 e 5 anos. Participaram 103 maes que responderam ao CBCL e a Entrevista Estruturada sobre Praticas Educativas Parentais e Socializacao Infantil. Os resultados revelaram que duas das sindromes que representam o agrupamento de problemas internalizantes, ansiedade/depressao e retraimento, estiveram positivamente correlacionadas ao controle critico, uma das dimensoes do controle psicologico. E possivel que o controle critico materno limite o desenvolvimento socioemocional da crianca e o acesso a reforcadores, contribuindo para o surgimento do retraimento e de sintomas de ansiedade/ depressao. Discute-se tambem a relevancia de outras variaveis para a compreensao dos problemas internalizantes, como as praticas de socializacao emocional. Palavras-chave: problemas internalizantes, controle materno, desenvolvimento infantil