This study was aimed at measuring the relative contribution of life events (potential stressors) and social support to the use of coercive control behaviors by mothers. Social support was measured both in terms of mothers' embeddedness in their social environment and of their preceived lack of support. Conflictual relationships were also identified. Mothers were asked to evaluate the degree of aversion or gratification found in each of the life events they had encountered the previous year; they also gauged the amount of energy invested in coping with those events. Coercion control behavior scores were obtained by asking the mothers to report the relative frequency of use of coercive and inductive strategies when dealing with their children in situations similar to those depicted in eight vignettes. Educational level, number of hours worked outside the home, size of the social support environment, and harmonious social ties correlate negatively with mothers' reported uses of coercive control strategies with their children. Number of negative life events, amount of energy invested in them, perceived degree of conflict with others, and perceived lack of support correlate positively. The association between lack of support and coercive scores is stronger under high conditions of stress. Amount of schooling, perceived lack of support, negative events, and perceived conflicts are the best predictors of mothers' use of coercive behaviors in attempts to control their children's behaviors. (Author/BG)