Parents who exert too much control over their children could be causing them lifelong psychological damage, according to a study which tracked a group of people born in the 1940s until the present day.

Researchers found that people who reported their parents had intruded on their privacy in childhood or encouraged dependence were more likely to have low scores in surveys of happiness and general wellbeing carried out in their teens, their 30s, their 40s and even their 60s.

The negative impact on wellbeing was comparable in scale to that observed in people who have suffered a bereavement, experts from University College London (UCL) said.

In contrast, people who said their parents were more caring, warm and responsive to their needs tended to be more content well into adulthood.

The findings are the culmination of a survey which has tracked more than 5,000 people since their birth in 1946. It is well-established that childhood influences can have profound effect on the developing brain, but this is one of the first studies that have attempted to measure their impact over such a long period of time.

Information on parenting styles was only available from the study participants themselves, who were asked to recall their childhoods when in their 40s, and may therefore suffer from a degree of so-called recall bias — unhappy people may be more likely to depict their parents as controlling.

However the researchers said the findings chimed with previous studies which have shown that children who are able to form secure emotional bonds with parents are more likely to have secure, happy relationships later in life.

“Parents also give us stable base from which to explore the world while warmth and responsiveness has been shown to promote social and emotional development,” said Dr. Mai Stafford, of the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) Lifelong Health and Ageing unit at UCL.

“By contrast, psychological control can limit a child’s independence and leave them less able to regulate their own behavior.”

Examples of psychologically controlling behavior identified by the study included invasions of children’s privacy and an unwillingness to let children make their own decisions, and fostering dependence upon one or both parents.

一项针对上世纪40年代生人的跟踪调查显示，父母对子女管束过多可能会对下一代造成终生的心理伤害。

研究人员发现，那些表示童年时被父母侵犯过隐私或被鼓励依赖父母的调查对象，在他们青少年时期、30多岁、40多岁甚至60多岁时进行的总体幸福感测试中得低分的可能性更大。

伦敦大学学院的专家表示，家长控制欲过强对幸福感造成的负面影响与痛失至亲对人们产生的负面影响程度相近。

相比之下，那些说父母关爱体贴、积极响应他们需求的调查对象在成年后往往更心满意足。

通过对5000余名1946年生人进行长期的跟踪调查，研究人员得出了上述结果。众所周知，儿童时期的经历对发育中的大脑会产生深远的影响。不过，这个研究是针对这种影响进行时间跨度这么大的先驱之一。

有关父母育儿方式的信息全部由研究参与者提供， 40多岁的他们被要求回忆童年，可能会出现一定程度的所谓“回忆偏倚”—— 不幸福的人更可能将他们的父母描述为控制欲强的人。

然而，研究者也表示，这项调查的发现与过往研究结论是吻合的。过往研究发现，能够跟父母建立起牢固的情感纽带的孩子，日后感情关系稳固、幸福的可能性更大。

UCL医学研究协会（Medical Research Council，MRC）终生健康与老龄化部门的梅·斯塔福德（Mai Stafford）博士说：“家长还为我们提供了稳固的大本营，我们以此为基础探索世界。而关爱和体察他人需求已被证明可以推动社交和情感发展。”

“相比之下，心理上的控制会削弱孩子的自立与自律能力。”

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    【高潮】gāocáo culmination Something important that happens at the end of an activity, process, or series of events.

    【深刻的】shēnkède profound emphasize that something is very great or intense.