Guilt induction and love withdrawal more likely to trigger depressive symptoms in adolescents

To understand how parenting styles influence adolescent mental health, the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University, collaborating with researchers from the School of Psychology at South China Normal University and the Department of Applied Psychology at Guangdong University of Education, conducted a one-year longitudinal study.

The research findings show that when parents use psychological control to manage their children, such as forcing compliance through guilt induction or love withdrawal—a tactic widely regarded as emotional blackmail—it can impair an adolescent's capacity to regulate emotions.

This then exacerbates depressive symptoms and heightens the risk of self-harm, particularly in girls. ...