Objective: Although parental threatening behaviors are associated with poor mental health outcomes among college students, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are understudied. This investigation examined the underlying role of perceived anxiety control in the association between childhood exposure to maternal threatening behaviors and depression, worry, and attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) symptoms. Participants: Participants (N = 862; Mage = 18.75 years, SD = 1.04, age range = 18-24) were recruited from a large state university in the northeast. Methods: Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires. Results: Tests of indirect effects indicated that greater childhood exposure to maternal threats was associated with lower perceived anxiety control, which in turn was associated with more severe depression, worry, and ADHD symptoms, respectively. Conclusions: Childhood exposure to maternal threatening behaviors may contribute to college students' low perceived anxiety control, which in turn increases the risk for these symptom clusters.
Keywords: College students; emerging adults; negative parenting; perceived anxiety control.