As noted throughout this section, the linkages between social control and other psychosocial mechanisms are complex. For example, Lewis & Butterfield (2005) find that the effectiveness of social control efforts may depend on the quality of the relationship with the agent of control as well as the type of control utilized. Positive tactics (e.g., helping, rewarding) are more effective than negative ones (e.g., reprimanding, demanding) (Fekete et al. 2008, Lewis & Butterfield 2005). Social control efforts that are perceived as critical may create stress in social ties and have unintended effects. In fact, negative tactics have been associated with increased health-compromising behaviors (Helgeson et al. 2004, Tucker et al. 2006). This pattern with adults may parallel how parental efforts to control adolescent behavior can back-fire (Marshal & Chassin 2000). One possibility is that individuals who engage in more unhealthy behaviors are the most likely recipients of control efforts that, in turn, reflect interpersonal problems arising from certain habits. Bilateral attempts between spouses to control health behavior may have more positive effects (Lewis & Butterfield 2007). For example, Franks and associates
