《中英對照讀新聞》Big Parental Control May Stunt Kid Assertiveness 大父母掌控方式可能阻礙兒童自信心

◎李信漢

Young adults who’d had highly controlling parents were less able to stress their own viewpoints to a friend or partner in confident and productive ways.

受到父母高度控管的青少年較難以自信和創造的方式，對朋友和父母大聲說出他們自己的觀點。

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Domineering parents may keep kids under their thumb to try to protect the kids from the perils of peer pressure. But this approach may backfire and actually make kids more susceptible to going with the crowd.

盛氣凌人的父母可能讓小孩完全在他們的掌控之下，以保護孩子不受其他同儕壓力的傷害。但是這種方式可能造成反效果，並且實際上使得小孩更敏感，更容易變得膽小。

Psychologists got baseline information through interviews with 184 13-year-olds. The researchers learned about their parents’ control tactics—such as using guilt to manipulate behavior—and watched how the kids dealt with a difference of opinion or argument with a friend.

心理學者從184名13歲小孩的訪談中取得基礎資訊。研究者發現他們父母的掌控孩子的技巧－－像是使用罪惡感去操控行為，以及觀察孩子如何處理在與其他朋友意見或觀點有所差異時的方法。

Years passed. Then the researchers followed up with the study participants when they were 18 and again when they reached 21.

數年之後。研究者在這些參與者18歲和21歲時，再度追蹤他們的情況。

The now young adults who’d had highly controlling parents were less able to stress their own viewpoints to a friend or partner in confident and productive ways. And the effects of that inability increased over time: poor relationship skills in an 18-year-old predicted further deficits at 21.

現在這些被父母被高度掌控的年輕人，比較不能以自信和創造的方式，向朋友或父母大聲說出他們自己的觀點。而且這種無能的效果會隨著時間而增長：18歲時缺乏團體溝通技能的人，到了21歲時的能力更為貧乏。

Seems that resisting parental control may be how kids learn to assert themselves, an important skill for healthy future relationships.

這似乎意謂著，抗拒父母的掌控，可能也是孩子在學習如何去肯定他們自己，而這項重要的技巧有助於他們發展未來的健康群體關係。

新聞辭典

be under somebody’s thumb：片語，受到某人掌控。例句：The committee is firmly under his thumb and will agree to whatever he asks.（委員會完全受到他的掌控，不論他說什麼，委員會都會同意。）

backfire：動詞，產生與預期完全相反的效果。例句：Their plans backfired.（他們的計畫產生反效果。）

deficit：名詞，因缺乏某種能力而造成問題。例句：She has a slight hearing deficit in her left ear.（她的左耳有輕微的聽障問題。）