{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T11:25:52Z","timestamp":1787743552240,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Shanghai School Teachers\u2019 Mental Health Protection System Project","award":["13200-412224-25A48"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["13200-412224-25A48"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behav. Sci.","Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Although achievement-oriented parental psychological control (APPC) has been associated with several forms of adolescent maladjustment, little is known about its relationship to disruptive behavior at school. Drawing on self-determination and social cognitive theories, this study tested whether academic self-efficacy and self-alienation mediated this association. A sample of 544 middle school students in grades 7 and 8 (grade 7: n = 341, 62.68%; grade 8: n = 203, 37.32%; 48.35% female) across 20 classrooms at a public school in a mid-sized city in central China completed self-reported measures of APPC, academic self-efficacy, self-alienation, and disruptive behavior. Path analysis revealed that APPC was indirectly associated with disruptive behaviors via academic self-efficacy and self-alienation. The findings highlight the importance of self-perception as a key mechanism linking APPC to adolescent behavioral problems, offering valuable insights for future interventions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16091493","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T10:59:23Z","timestamp":1787741963000},"page":"1493","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Cost of Pushing Too Hard: Academic Self-Efficacy and Self-Alienation Link Achievement-Oriented Parental Psychological Control to Disruptive Behaviors"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Lixia","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Higher and Vocational Education, Shanghai Teacher Institute, Shanghai 200233, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-8348-8608","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zekun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7095-6134","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiaobo","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6702-8030","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Weiguo","family":"Pang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1111\/j.0022-3506.2004.00256.x","article-title":"The emotional costs of parents\u2019 conditional regard: A self-determination theory analysis","volume":"72","author":"Assor","year":"2004","journal-title":"Journal of Personality"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3071","DOI":"10.1007\/s10826-020-01810-5","article-title":"Associations between parental psychological control and externalizing problems: The roles of need frustration and self-control","volume":"29","author":"Bai","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Child and Family Studies"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control, W. H. Freeman."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1206","DOI":"10.2307\/1131888","article-title":"Multifaceted impact of self-efficacy beliefs on academic functioning","volume":"67","author":"Bandura","year":"1996","journal-title":"Child Development"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3876","DOI":"10.1007\/s10826-023-02700-2","article-title":"A meta-analysis relating parental psychological control with emotion regulation in youth","volume":"32","author":"Beliveau","year":"2023","journal-title":"Journal of Child and Family Studies"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.106.1.59","article-title":"Frustration-aggression hypothesis: Examination and reformulation","volume":"106","author":"Berkowitz","year":"1989","journal-title":"Psychological Bulletin"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1833","DOI":"10.1002\/jclp.22632","article-title":"Parental psychological control, adolescent self-criticism, and adolescent depressive symptoms: A latent change modeling approach in Belgian adolescents","volume":"74","author":"Bleys","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Clinical Psychology"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1034","DOI":"10.1002\/jclp.22750","article-title":"I won\u2019t obey!: Psychologically controlling parenting and (non)-clinical adolescents\u2019 responses to rule-setting","volume":"75","author":"Brenning","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of Clinical Psychology"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1007\/s12187-012-9164-4","article-title":"Parental psychological control, quality of family context and life satisfaction among Italian adolescents","volume":"6","author":"Cacioppo","year":"2013","journal-title":"Child Indicators Research"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1177\/0165025420981638","article-title":"Maternal achievement-oriented psychological control: Implications for adolescent academic contingent self-esteem and mathematics anxiety","volume":"45","author":"Ching","year":"2021","journal-title":"International Journal of Behavioral Development"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327965PLI1104_01","article-title":"The \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201cwhy\u201d of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior","volume":"11","author":"Deci","year":"2000","journal-title":"Psychological Inquiry"},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"253","article-title":"Reliability and validity of the revised version of dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control scale in Chinese adolescents","volume":"27","author":"Deng","year":"2019","journal-title":"Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1080\/10409289.2012.701536","article-title":"Relations of emotional competence and effortful control to child disruptive behavior problems","volume":"24","author":"Duncombe","year":"2013","journal-title":"Early Education and Development"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3192","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbusres.2015.12.008","article-title":"Common methods variance detection in business research","volume":"69","author":"Fuller","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Business Research"},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"453","article-title":"Validation of the dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control scale (DAPCS) in a Spanish-speaking late adolescent sample","volume":"35","year":"2019","journal-title":"Annals of Psychology"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"62","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cogdev.2018.08.002","article-title":"From domain-specific to domain-general? The developmental path of metacognition for strategy selection","volume":"48","author":"Geurten","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cognitive Development"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"614","DOI":"10.1080\/02568543.2024.2388058","article-title":"Parental psychological control and children\u2019s curiosity and academic self-concept","volume":"39","author":"Goldner","year":"2025","journal-title":"Journal of Research in Childhood Education"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"183","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062407","article-title":"Multilevel modeling: Research-based lessons for substantive researchers","volume":"4","year":"2017","journal-title":"Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior"},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Harman, H. H. (1976). Modern factor analysis, University of Chicago Press. [3rd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.3102\/003465430298487","article-title":"The power of feedback","volume":"77","author":"Hattie","year":"2007","journal-title":"Review of Educational Research"},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Hayes, A. F., and Little, T. D. (2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach, The Guilford Press. [3rd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"194200","DOI":"10.1037\/a0012754","article-title":"A self-determination theory perspective on parenting","volume":"49","author":"Joussemet","year":"2008","journal-title":"Canadian Psychology"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1016\/S0065-2601(06)38006-9","article-title":"A multicomponent conceptualization of authenticity: Theory and research","volume":"Vol. 38","author":"Zanna","year":"2006","journal-title":"Advances in experimental social psychology"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"853","DOI":"10.1177\/1948550617727587","article-title":"Existential ennui: Examining the reciprocal relationship between self-alienation and academic amotivation","volume":"9","author":"Kim","year":"2018","journal-title":"Social Psychological and Personality Science"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111825","DOI":"10.1016\/j.paid.2022.111825","article-title":"Developing authenticity: A quasi-experimental investigation","volume":"198","author":"Kipfelsberger","year":"2022","journal-title":"Personality and Individual Differences"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1512","DOI":"10.1007\/s10964-023-01770-1","article-title":"Academic stress, academic self-efficacy, and psychological distress: A moderated mediation of within-person effects","volume":"52","author":"Kristensen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Journal of Youth and Adolescence"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"815","DOI":"10.1177\/1094428106296642","article-title":"Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and interrater agreement","volume":"11","author":"LeBreton","year":"2008","journal-title":"Organizational Research Methods"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"795","DOI":"10.1002\/ejsp.70076","article-title":"\u2018Just like a marionette\u2019: Perceived parental psychological control and self-dehumanisation among adolescents","volume":"56","author":"Li","year":"2026","journal-title":"European Journal of Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"356","DOI":"10.1080\/10611932.2025.2479389","article-title":"The impact of parental encouragement on the academic achievement of students in China: The chain mediation effect of optimism and perceived stress","volume":"57","author":"Lin","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chinese Education & Society"},{"key":"ref_30","first-page":"447","article-title":"A multidimensional, hierarchical model of self-concept: An important facet of personality","volume":"Vol. 1","author":"Marsh","year":"2008","journal-title":"The SAGE handbook of personality theory and assessment"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"895","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ps.20230543","article-title":"Reducing disruptive and distracting behaviors in the classroom: Assessing the evidence base","volume":"75","author":"Marshall","year":"2024","journal-title":"Psychiatric Services"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1037\/1082-989X.12.1.23","article-title":"Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation","volume":"12","author":"Maxwell","year":"2007","journal-title":"Psychological Methods"},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Midgley, C., Maehr, M. L., Hruda, L. Z., Anderman, E., Anderman, L., Freeman, K. E., and Urdan, T. (2000). Manual for the patterns of adaptive learning scales, University of Michigan. Available online: https:\/\/public.websites.umich.edu\/~pals\/PALS%202000_V13Word97.pdf."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"736","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lindif.2011.09.005","article-title":"Role of academic self-efficacy in moderating the relation between task importance and test anxiety","volume":"21","author":"Nie","year":"2011","journal-title":"Learning and Individual Differences"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Peng, Y., Cao, Y., Qin, Y., Xiao, T., Yang, A., Yuan, Y., and Meng, Y. (2026). Linking subjective well-being to short-video addiction among college students: The serial mediating roles of alienation and self-control. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 17.","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1892672"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsp.2009.09.002","article-title":"A practical guide to multilevel modeling","volume":"48","author":"Peugh","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of School Psychology"},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"90","article-title":"Exploring alienation, self-dehumanization, and aggression in adolescents: Institutionalized vs non-institutionalized","volume":"9","author":"Vecina","year":"2023","journal-title":"International Journal of Psychology and Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"879","DOI":"10.1037\/0021-9010.88.5.879","article-title":"Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies","volume":"88","author":"Podsakoff","year":"2003","journal-title":"Journal of Applied Psychology"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"539","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-psych-120710-100452","article-title":"Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it","volume":"63","author":"Podsakoff","year":"2012","journal-title":"Annual Review of Psychology"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"879","DOI":"10.3758\/BRM.40.3.879","article-title":"Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models","volume":"40","author":"Preacher","year":"2008","journal-title":"Behavior Research Methods"},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"R Core Team (2026). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 4.6.0) [Computer software], R Foundation for Statistical Computing."},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"Revelle, W. (2026). psych: Procedures for psychological, psychometric, and personality research (Version 2.6.5) [Computer software], Northwestern University. Available online: https:\/\/CRAN.R-project.org\/package=psych."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"905","DOI":"10.1002\/pits.22045","article-title":"Internalizing and externalizing in adolescence: The roles of academic self-efficacy and gender","volume":"54","author":"Rocchino","year":"2017","journal-title":"Psychology in the Schools"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1007\/s10826-024-02990-0","article-title":"Adolescents\u2019 beliefs about parental motivations for using psychological control as a moderator of associations between psychological control and problematic behaviors","volume":"34","author":"Romm","year":"2025","journal-title":"Journal of Child and Family Studies"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v048.i02","article-title":"lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling","volume":"48","author":"Rosseel","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Statistical Software"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"547","DOI":"10.33824\/PJPR.2019.34.3.30","article-title":"Parental psychological control and aggression among adolescents: Mediating role of emotional dysregulation","volume":"34","author":"Safdar","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Schunk, D. H., and DiBenedetto, M. K. (2022). Academic self-efficacy. Handbook of positive psychology in schools, Routledge.","DOI":"10.4324\/9781003013778-21"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108855","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2026.108855","article-title":"Promoting personal and social skills in youth with disruptive behaviors: A systematic review of tertiary programs","volume":"184","author":"Soares","year":"2026","journal-title":"Children and Youth Services Review"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"217","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-6494.2009.00614.x","article-title":"Toward a domain-specific approach to the study of parental psychological control: Distinguishing between dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control","volume":"78","author":"Soenens","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Personality"},{"key":"ref_50","first-page":"260","article-title":"Reliability and validity of the authenticity scale in Chinese adolescents","volume":"28","author":"Song","year":"2020","journal-title":"Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1045","DOI":"10.1111\/cdev.12867","article-title":"Happy to be \u201cme?\u201d authenticity, psychological need satisfaction, and subjectivewellbeing in adolescence","volume":"88","author":"Thomaes","year":"2017","journal-title":"Child Development"},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"24782","DOI":"10.1007\/s12144-022-03411-5","article-title":"Parental psychological control, academic self-efficacy and adolescent drinking: The roles of teacher-student relationship and sensation seeking","volume":"42","author":"Wang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Current Psychology"},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jrp.2012.03.007","article-title":"The index of autonomous functioning: Development of a scale of human autonomy","volume":"46","author":"Weinstein","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Research in Personality"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"477","DOI":"10.1177\/1094428110366036","article-title":"Method variance and marker variables: A review and comprehensive CFA marker technique","volume":"13","author":"Williams","year":"2010","journal-title":"Organizational Research Methods"},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1080\/1612197X.2025.2453448","article-title":"The relationship among perceived parental psychological control, socially prescribed perfectionism, fear of failure, and performance of adolescent athletes","volume":"24","author":"Won","year":"2026","journal-title":"International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology"},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-0167.55.3.385","article-title":"The authentic personality: A theoretical and empirical conceptualization and the development of the Authenticity Scale","volume":"55","author":"Wood","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Counseling Psychology"},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1080\/15295192.2015.1020135","article-title":"An examination of the dynamics involved in parental child-invested contingent self-esteem","volume":"15","author":"Wuyts","year":"2015","journal-title":"Parenting"},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.1111\/bjdp.12308","article-title":"Parental psychological control and academic functioning in Chinese high school students: A short-term longitudinal study","volume":"38","author":"Xu","year":"2020","journal-title":"British Journal of Developmental Psychology"},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1573","DOI":"10.2224\/sbp.6754","article-title":"Adolescents\u2019 perceived parental psychological control and test anxiety: Mediating role of academic self-efficacy","volume":"45","author":"Xu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal"},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1406259","DOI":"10.1155\/cad\/1406259","article-title":"Academic self-efficacy and academic identity construction: A qualitative study of doctoral students in China","volume":"2026","author":"Zhang","year":"2026","journal-title":"New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development"},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1006\/ceps.1999.1016","article-title":"Self-efficacy: An essential motive to learn","volume":"25","author":"Zimmerman","year":"2000","journal-title":"Contemporary Educational Psychology"}],"container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-328X\/16\/9\/1493\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T11:16:42Z","timestamp":1787743002000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-328X\/16\/9\/1493"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"references-count":61,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["bs16091493"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/bs16091493","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-328X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-328X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]}}}