Longitudinal associations between parental negative control and children’s deceptive behavior

Children begin to engage in deception at an early age, but such behavior becomes problematic during middle childhood. Although some cross-sectional studies have identified a link between parental negative control and children's problematic deception, the developmental pathways remain unclear. Children's dysfunctional attitudes, characterized by maladaptive beliefs about achievement and approval, may play a mediating role between parental negative control and children's deceptive behavior. This study employed a three-wave longitudinal design to examine the influence of parental negative control on parental assessment of children's deceptive behavior during middle childhood and to explore the mediating role of dysfunctional attitudes in this relationship. A sample of 302 Singaporean families (42% with female children) participated. Primary caregivers reported their use of parental negative control (including harsh parental punishment, discipline, and ignoring) and their children's frequency of deceptive behavior at ages 7, 8, and 9. Additionally, children self-reported their dysfunctional attitudes at ages 8 and 9. The results revealed that harsh parental punishment at ages 7 and 8 predicted parental assessment of children's deceptive behavior 1 year later. Children's deceptive behavior at age 8 also predicted harsh parental punishment at age 9. Furthermore, children's dysfunctional attitudes at age 9 mediated the effect of parental negative control at age 8 on parental assessment of children's deceptive behavior at age 9. These findings suggest that children's maladaptive social information processing might play a critical role in the development of problematic deception, potentially as a coping mechanism in reaction to harsh parental punishment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

Coping (psychology · Deception · Dysfunctional family · Early childhood · Longitudinal study · Parental control · Psychological control · Punishment (psychology · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Child and Animal Learning Development · Deception detection and forensic psychology