Parents who exert psychological control over their children could risk damaging them for life, a new study has by University College London has warned.
The effect of the damage caused is comparable to the mental anguish a person feels after the death of a close friend or relative, the researchers warned.
Not allowing a child to make their own decisions, invading their privacy and creating dependence, were all found to harm a child's mental wellbeing.
Researchers followed a group of more than 5,000 people from their births in 1946. Their findings highlight how parenting can have a long-term impact on mental wellbeing.
To arrive at their conclusions scientists monitored the mental wellbeing of participants in the MRC's National Survey of Health and Development between the ages of 13 and 64.