Prof. Dr. Bart Soenens

	E-mail	Bart Soenens
	Phone	09 264 91 34

	Room number	150.041
	Category	Tenured academic staff




Research	My main research interest is in the relation between parental rearing style and adolescents’ wellbeing and psychosocial functioning. My research addresses diverse dimensions of parenting style, including responsiveness (support), behavioral control (regulation), and autonomy-support. I have a particular fascination for the processes and dynamics (i.e., antecedents and mediators) involved in parental psychological control – a parenting dimension that has been found to predict psychopathological outcomes in children and adolescents, such as depressive symptoms and eating disorders. Apart from this research line on parenting I am involved in research on such topics as motivation, identity development, religion, and prejudice.

Bibliography	Bibliography


Links	Summary and full text of my PhD ('Psychologically controlling parenting and adolescent psychosocial adjustment : antecedents, mediating factors, and longitudinal dynamics')

	Self-determination theory

Questionnaires	GENERAL PARENTING STYLE Here you can find a questionnaire tapping into 4 core dimensions of parenting style which we have been using a lot in our research. This questionnaire can be administered to both adolescents and parents. The file also contains references to studies providing validity and psychometric information of the scales.
	PARENTAL PROHIBITION AND STYLE OF PROHIBITION IN DIFFERENT LIFE DOMAINS Parents' frequency of introducing rules or prohibitions and their style of introducting those rules or prohibitions may differ by life domain. This questionnaire taps into the frequency, style, and perceived legitimacy of parental prohibition in the domains of morality and friendships. This questionnaire can be easily translated to other life domains as well.
	INTERNALIZATION OF PARENTAL RULES Children and adolescents can have different reasons to follow their parents rules and prohibitions. These reasons vary on a continuüm of internalization. This questionnaire taps into different reasons to follow parental rules, ranging from straightforward defiance against parental authority (rebellion) to acceptance and endorsement of parental rules (identification).
	SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT OF TWO EXPRESSIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTROL (DAPCS) This recently developed and validated questionnaire taps into two domain-specific expressions of parental psychological control: (a) dependency-oriented psychological control (aimed at keeping a child within close boundaries) and (b) achievement-oriented psychological control (aimed at pushing a child to strive for excellence). This questionnaire is available in different languages: English Dutch French Korean Spanish Italian
Recent publications	Berzonsky, M. D., Soenens, B., Luyckx, K., Smits, I., Papini, D. R., & Goossens, L. (in press). Development and validation of the Revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-5): Factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity. Psychological Assessment.
	Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Beyers, W. (in press). Longitudinal dynamics of depressogenic personality and attachment dimensions in adolescence: An examination of associations with changes in depressive symptoms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
	Chen, B., Beyers, W., Vansteenkiste, M., Soenens, B., & Van Petegem, S. (in press). Autonomy in family decision-making for Chinese adolescents: Disentangling the dual meaning of autonomy in a cross-cultural context. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.
	De Haan, A., Soenens, B., Prinzie, P., & Dekovic, M. (in press). Effects of childhood aggression on parenting during Adolescence: The role of parental psychological need satisfaction. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
	Kins, E., Soenens, B., & Beyers, W. (in press). Separation anxiety in families with emerging adults. Journal of Family Psychology.
	Stone, L., Otten, R., Janssens, J. M. A. M., Soenens, B., Kuntsche, E., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (in press). Does parental psychological control relate to internalizing and externalizing problems in early childhood? An examination using the Berkeley Puppet Interview. International Journal of Behavioral Development.
	Vansteenkiste, M., Soenens, B., Van Petegem, S., & Duriez, B. (in press). How are domain and style of parental prohibition related to adolescents’ oppositional defiance and internalization? Developmental Psychology.
	Ahmad, I., Vansteenkiste, M., & Soenens, B. (2013). The relations of Arab Jordanian adolescents’ perceived maternal parenting to teacher-rated adjustment and problems: The intervening role of perceived need satisfaction. Developmental Psychology, 49, 177-183.
	Haerens, L., Aelterman, N., Van den Berghe, L., De Meyer, J., Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2013). Observing physical education teachers’ need-supportive interactions in classroom settings . Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 35, 3-17.
	Kins, E., Beyers, W., & Soenens, B. (2013). When the separation-individuation process goes awry: Distinguishing between dysfunctional dependence and dysfunctional independence. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 37, 1-12.
	Verstuyf, J., Vansteenkiste, M., Soenens, B., Boone, L., & Mouratidis, A. (2013). Daily ups and downs in women’s binge eating symptoms: The role of basic psychological needs, general self-control, and emotional eating. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 32, 335-361.
	Boone, L., Soenens, B., Mouratidis, A., Vansteenkiste, M., Verstuyf, J., & Braet, C. (2012). Daily fluctuations in perfectionism dimensions and their relation to eating disorder symptoms. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 678-687.
	Boone, L., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Braet, C. (2012). Is there a perfectionist in each of us? An experimental study on perfectionism and eating disorder symptoms . Appetite, 59, 531-540.
	Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Bosmans, G. (2012). Attachment and depressive symptoms in middle childhood and early adolescence: Testing the validity of the emotion regulation model of attachment . Personal Relationships, 19, 445-464.
	Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Bal, S. (2012). The role of parenting and mother-adolescent attachment in the intergenerational similarity of depressive symptoms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 802-816.
	Claes, L., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Vandereycken, W. (2012). The scars of the inner critic: Perfectionism and non-suicidal self-injury in eating disorders . European Eating Disorders Review, 20, 196-202.
	Duriez, B., Klimstra, T. A., Luyckx, K., Beyers, W., & Soenens, B. (2012). Right-wing authoritarianism: Protective factor against or risk factor for depression? European Journal of Personality, 26, 536-549.
	Duriez, B., Luyckx, K., Soenens, B., & Berzonsky, M. D. (2012). A process-content approach to adolescent identity formation: Examining longitudinal associations between identity styles and goal pursuits . Journal of Personality, 80, 135-161.
	Kins, E., Soenens, B., & Beyers, W. (2012). Parental psychological control and dysfunctional separation-individuation: A tale of two different dynamics. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 1099-1109.
	Soenens, B., Neyrinck, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Dezutter, J., Hutsebaut, D., & Duriez, B. (2012). How do perceptions of God as autonomy-supportive or controlling relate to individuals’ social-cognitive processing of religious contents? The role of motives for religious behavior . International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 22, 1-21.
	Soenens, B., Park, S. Y., Vansteenkiste, M., & Mouratidis, A. (2012). Perceived parental psychological control and adolescent depressive experiences: A cross-cultural study with Belgian and South-Korean adolescents . Journal of Adolescence, 35, 261-272.
	Soenens, B., Sierens, E.,Vansteenkiste, M., Goossens, L., & Dochy, F. (2012). Psychologically controlling teaching: Examining outcomes, antecedents, and mediators. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 108-120.
	Van Petegem, S., Beyers, W., Vansteenkiste, M., & Soenens, B. (2012). On the association between adolescent autonomy and psychosocial functioning: Examining decisional (in)dependence from a self-determination theory perspective . Developmental Psychology, 48,76-88.
	Vansteenkiste, M., Sierens, E., Goossens, L., Soenens, B., Dochy, F., Mouratidis, A., Aelterman, N., Haerens, L., & Beyers, W. (2012). Identifying configurations of perceived teacher autonomy support and structure: Associations with self-regulated learning, motivation, and problem behavior. Learning and Instruction, 22, 431-439.
	Verstuyf, J., Vansteenkiste, M., & Soenens, B. (2012). Eating regulation and bulimic symptoms: The differential correlates of health-focused and appearance-focused eating regulation . Body Image, 9, 108-117.
	Berzonsky, M. D., Cieciuch, J., Duriez, B., & Soenens, B. (2011). The how and what of identity formation: Associations between identity styles and value orientations . Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 295-299.
	Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Bosmans, G. (2011). The role of depressogenic personality and attachment in the intergenerational similarity of depressive symptoms: A study with early adolescents and their mothers . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37,284-297.
	Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Bosmans, G. (2011). Attachment anxiety and avoidance in middle childhood and early adolescence: The development of a child version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale – Revised. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28, 1048-1072.
	Boone, L., Soenens, B., & Braet, C. (2011). Perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and bulimic symptoms: The intervening role of perceived pressure to be thin and thin ideal internalization. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30, 1043-1038.
	Kins, E., Soenens, B., & Beyers, W. (2011). “Why do they have to grow up so fast?” Parental separation anxiety and emerging adults’ pathology of separation-individuation.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67, 647-664.
	Miklikowska, M., Duriez, B., & Soenens, B. (2011). Family roots of empathy-related characteristics: The role of perceived maternal and paternal need support in adolescence.Developmental Psychology, 47, 1342-1352.
	Soenens, B., Berzonsky, M. D., Dunkel, C., Papini, D., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2011). Are all identity commitments created equally? The importance of motives for late adolescents’ personal adjustment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35, 358-369.
	Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2011). When is identity congruent with the self? A self-determination theory perspective. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 381-402). New York: Springer.
	Ahmad, I., & Soenens, B. (2010). Perceived maternal parenting as a mediator of the intergenerational similarity of dependency and self-criticism: A study with Arab Jordanian adolescents and their mothers. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 756-765.
	Boone, L., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Goossens, L. (2010). An empirical typology of perfectionism in early-to-mid adolescents and its relation with eating disorder symptoms . Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 686-691.
	Smits, I., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyckx, K., & Goossens, L. (2010). Why do adolescents gather information or stick to parental norms? Examining autonomous and controlled motives behind adolescents’ identity style. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39,1343-1356.
	Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). A theoretical upgrade of the concept of parental psychological control: Proposing new insights on the basis of self-determination theory. Developmental Review, 30, 74-99.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Luyten, P. (2010). Towards a domain-specific approach to the study of parental psychological control: Distinguishing between dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control. Journal of Personality, 78 , 217-256.
	Kins, E., Beyers, W., Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2009). Patterns of home leaving and subjective well-being in emerging adulthood: The role of motivational processes and parental autonomy support. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1416-1429.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Niemiec, C. P. (2009). Should parental prohibition of adolescents’ peer relationships be prohibited? The role of parental autonomy-support and control. Personal Relationships, 16, 507-530.
	Vansteenkiste, M., Sierens, E., Soenens, B., Luyckx, K., & Lens, W. (2009). Motivational profiles from a self-determination perspective: The quality of motivation matters. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 671-688.
	Dezutter, J., Soenens, B., Luyckx, K., Bruyneel, S., Vansteenkiste, M., Duriez, B., & Hutsebaut, D. (2009). The role of religion in death attitudes: Distinguishing between religious belief and style of processing religious contents. Death Studies, 33, 73-92.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Sierens, E. (2009). How are parental psychological control and autonomy-support related? Naturally occurring profiles of psychological control and two types of autonomy-support. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 187-202.
	Soenens, B., Luyckx, K., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyten, P., Duriez, B., & Goossens, L. (2008). Maladaptive perfectionism as an intervening variable between psychological control and adolescent depressive feelings: A three-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 465-474.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Vandereycken, W., Luyten, P., Sierens, E., & Goossens, L. (2008). Perceived parental psychological control and eating disordered symptoms: Maladaptive perfectionism as a possible intervening variable. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 196, 144-152.
	Luyckx, K., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Berzonsky, M. D., & Goossens, L. (2007). Parental psychological control and dimensions of identity formation in emerging adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 546-550.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., Luyckx, K., Goossens, L., Beyers, W., & Ryan, R. M. (2007). Conceptualizing parental autonomy support: Adolescent perceptions of promotion of independence versus promotion of volitional functioning. Developmental Psychology, 43, 633-646.
	Duriez, B., Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2007). In search of the antecedents of adolescent authoritarianism: The relative contribution of parental goal promotion and parenting style dimensions . European Journal of Personality, 21, 507-527.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyckx, K., & Goossens, L. (2006). Parenting and adolescent problem behaviors: An integrated model with adolescent self-disclosure and perceived parental knowledge as intervening variables. Developmental Psychology, 42, 305-318.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Duriez, B., & Goossens, L. (2006). In search of the sources of psychologically controlling parenting: The role of parental separation anxiety and parental maladaptive perfectionism. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16, 539-559.
	Soenens, B., Duriez, B., & Goossens, L. (2005). Social-psychological profiles of identity styles: Attitudinal and social-cognitive correlates in late adolescence . Journal of Adolescence, 28, 107-125.
	Soenens, B., Elliot, A. J., Goossens, L., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyten, P., & Duriez, B. (2005). The intergenerational transmission of perfectionism: Parents' psychological control as an intervening variable . Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 358-366.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyten, P., Duriez, B., & Goossens, L. (2005). Maladaptive perfectionistic self-representations: The mediational link between psychological control and adjustment. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 487-498.
	Vansteenkiste, M., Simons, J., Lens, W., Soenens, B., & Matos, L. (2005). Examining the motivational impact of intrinsic versus extrinsic goal framing and internally controlling versus autonomy-supportive communication style upon early adolescents’ academic achievement. Child Development, 76, 483-501.
	Duriez, B., Soenens, B., & Beyers, W. (2004). Religiosity, identity styles and the five factor model of personality: An integrative study among late adolescents in Flanders (Belgium). Journal of Personality, 72, 877-910.


Selected conference presentations	Soenens, B., Wuyts, D., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2013, June). A crushing sense of responsibility: An examination of the dynamics involved in parental child-invested contingent self-esteem. Paper presented at the 5th Self-Determination Theory International Conference, June 27-30, Rochester, NY.
	Soenens, B., Mouratidis, T., Van Petegem, S., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2013, April). Structure and pressure in the school context: The role of general perceived parenting style and students’ academic motivation . In W. Grolnick (Chair), Not all rules are the same: The roles of domain, implementation, and context in parents’ provision of rules for their adolescents. Symposium conducted at the Biennial Meeting of the Society of Research on Child Development (SRCD), Seattle, April 18-20.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Van Petegem, S., & Chen ,B. (2012, September). Adolescents’ active role in constructing and responding to perceptions of autonomy-supportive (versus pressuring) parenting . In L. Tilton-Weaver (Chair), Adolescents’ agency and responses to parenting. Symposium conducted at the international conference of the European Association for Research on Adolescence, Spetses, Greece, August 29^th – September 1^st, 2012.
	Soenens, B., Van Leeuwen, K., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2012, May). Are physical punishemnt and verbal hostility elements of parental behavioral control? In P. H. O. Leijten (Chair), On the psychology of parenting: New perspectives on parental mindsets, investment, and control. Symposium conducted at the conference of the Verening Nederlandse Ontwikkelingspsychologie (VNOP), Wageningen, The Netherlands, May 22-23, 2012.
	Soenens, B. (2010, May). Contrasting autonomy-support with the promotion of independence . In A. Assor (Chair), Autonomy support: Critical elements and differentiation from other contextual supports. Symposium conducted at the 4^th Self-Determination Theory (SDT) conference, Ghent, Belgium.
	Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2009, April). Should parental prohibition of adolescent behaviors be prohibited? The moderating role of social domain and style of prohibition. In B. Soenens (Chair), Is parental behavioral control a protective parenting dimension? A social domain theory analysis. Symposium conducted at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD), Denver, Colorado, USA.
	Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Vandereycken, W. (2008, May). The significance of perfectionism in eating disorders: A comparative study . In A. Roefs (Chair), A slim "perfect" body and eating behaviour. Symposium conducted at the Annual Meeting of the Belgian Association for Psychological Science (BAPS), Leuven, Belgium.
	Soenens, B. & Park, S. Y. (2008, May). Distinguishing between separation-anxious and achievement-oriented psychological control: A cross-national comparison between Belgium and South-Korea . In B. Soenens & C. Manzi (Chairs), The cross-cultural significance of control and autonomy in parent-adolescent relationships. Symposium conducted at the Biennial Meeting of the European Association for Research on Adolescence, Torino, Italy.
	Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2007, March). Distinguishing among types of psychological control: Separation-anxious versus achievement-oriented psychological control . In A. Assor (Chair), Disentangling the construct of parental control: Conceptual and measurement issues. Symposium conducted at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD), Boston, MA.

Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology

Prof. Dr. Bart Soenens