The purpose of this study was to examine how extracurricular activities and parental monitoring relate to rural youth violence. Gender differences were examined across all of the study variables. Self-report data were collected from 235 teenagers from a rural, ethnically diverse, Virginia community. Correlations revealed a significant inverse relationship between church activity as well as parental monitoring and weapon carrying. Significant mean level differences existed between males and females on the following variables: time spent in aerobic exercise activities, time spent in toning exercise activities, weapon carrying frequency, and level of parental monitoring. In addition, time in non-school clubs was the best predictor of sample youth classification in either the "violent" category or "nonviolent" category. Findings emphasize the importance of parental monitoring for youth as well as the need for more programs and after-school activities to meet the needs of all youth. / Master of Science

As Information and Communication technology (ICT) has rapidly advanced in China, parental monitoring may invasively penetrate into children's privacy, while China is lagging behind on the issue of children privacy protection. Privacy is invaluable to human development, and children do have interests in their privacy. This thesis is going to investigate under which condition it is desirable for parents to apply ICT techniques to monitor children, which does not invade children's privacy. Before reaching the decision of carrying out monitoring, the intent and the necessity of monitoring should be considered. Children should be informed and their consent should be acquired before deploying monitoring. After the decision is made, the proportionality of monitoring practice requires parents to opt for the least invasive and the most necessary approach. Besides parental monitoring, states and schools can offer media literacy education to enable children to protect themselves from privacy infringement.

Parental monitoring is a widely researched hypothetical construct. Patterson and colleagues (Capaldi & Patterson, 1989; Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992) originally developed the construct in their seminal work with the Oregon Youth Study. Adopting a broad theoretical framework, monitoring was defined as parental awareness of adolescent activities, and communication to the child that the parent is concerned about and aware of adolescent free-time (Dishion & McMahon, 1998). Recent research (Kerr & Stattin, 2000; Kerr, Stattin, & Trost, 1999; Stattin & Kerr, 2000) has proposed a narrower definition, where monitoring is perceived to be parental knowledge of adolescent free-time, which is acquired primarily through adolescent disclosure of their activities. Recent debates have been present in the literature proposing either the multi-dimensional view of monitoring, or the latter uni-dimensional view. A model of monitoring interactions was developed that is based on social learning and behavioural principles. The process-monitoring model contends that monitoring is an interactive process between parents, their adolescents, and the ecology of the family. In the model it is proposed that monitoring occurs in discrete episodes that change over the course of adolescent development. To explain monitoring interactions, it is essential to consider the sequence of behaviours that occur within a monitoring interaction at two stages, before the adolescent goes out, and also when they return home. Using the process-monitoring model as a framework, this research examined monitoring across four studies. Study 1 was a qualitative study that explored adolescent perceptions of monitoring interactions. Forty-nine adolescents aged from 12 through to 16 years (M = 13.2) were interviewed about their monitoring interactions with parents. This study found correspondence between the constructs in the process-monitoring model and adolescent perceptions of monitoring interactions. Two new themes that emerged in this study were parental trust and adolescent deceit. For typically developing adolescents there were marked differences in how adolescents perceive parental monitoring across adolescent development. Study 2 involved the analysis of data collected as part of a population based self-report survey of 1285 adolescents aged 14 to 15 years. The hypothesised relationship between monitoring behaviours was examined using structured equation modelling. A model with the constructs of rules, supervision, conflict, and adolescent problem behaviour was found to be an adequate fit of the data, accounting for 40% of the variance in problem behaviour. Specifically, lax rules predicted poor supervision and high conflict. High conflict and low supervision were predictors of the adolescent problem behaviour construct, which encompassed conduct problems, rebelliousness, and sensation seeking. Adequate rules appear to form the foundation for better supervision and less conflict, and hence, lower levels of adolescent problem behaviours. Study 3 involved data collected for the purpose of further testing the process-monitoring model. The associations between parent-adolescent relationship quality, rules, solicitation, disclosure, and tracking were tested using linear path modelling on self-report data from a sample of 210 parents and 202 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years (M = 15.29). Separate statistical models were required for the parent and adolescent data. For the adolescent data the model was an adequate fit, accounting for 27% of the variance in tracking behaviours. In the adolescent model, high rule-setting predicted higher solicitation and tracking, while poor relationship quality predicted lower disclosure and lower tracking. For the parent data, the model was an adequate fit accounting for 34% of the variance in tracking behaviours. In the parent model, high rule-setting predicted higher solicitation, disclosure, and tracking, while poor relationship quality predicted lower disclosure, lower solicitation, and poorer tracking scores. T he tracking construct was found to adequately predict adolescent deviant behaviours including alcohol use, smoking, and deviant peer associations. Study 4 was an exploratory study. In this study the monitoring scale constructed in Study 3 was examined alongside behavioural observations made whilst conducting an intervention with two families who were experiencing parent-adolescent conflict. Some correspondence was found between parent and adolescent measures of monitoring and conflict and the behaviour seen between parent-adolescent dyads; however, the self-report monitoring measures were only able to reveal substantial problems in monitoring. Problem Solving and Communication Training (Robin & Foster, 1989) showed some improvement in parent-adolescent relationships, as measured by the Issues Checklist (Robin & Foster, 1989) and Conflict Behaviour Questionnaire (Prinz, Foster, Kent, & O'Leary, 1979), but there was no impact on monitoring interactions. This series of studies supported the claims that monitoring is a multi-dimensional construct, and that it has bi-directional effects. There was support for the existing research, which has shown that poor parental monitoring is consistently associated with adolescent problem behaviour. The process model was found to provide an adequate framework for examining the temporal sequence in monitoring interactions and the evolution of monitoring across the adolescent developmental cycle. At this stage there is little experimental or intervention research showing how families might improve their monitoring. It is argued that behavioural observations and functional analyses of monitoring episodes are needed to provide an understanding of the action-reaction sequence across monitoring episodes.

Homeless youth face numerous risks. Data on 602 homeless youth from the Midwest Homeless and Runaway Study and binary logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with their participation in risky sexual behaviors. Specifically, the effects of abuse/neglect and three potential moderating resiliency indicators, namely self-esteem, parental warmth, and parental monitoring, on having sex before adulthood and thinking about trading sex for food or shelter were examined. While none of the three resiliency indicators had the hypothesized moderating effects, controlling for abuse/neglect and various sociodemographic characteristics, parental monitoring had a direct, negative effect on having sex before adulthood, and self-esteem and parental warmth had direct, negative effects on thinking about trading sex for food or shelter. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.

The following research integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior with variables from the consumer socialization and parenting literatures to explore parental impact on adolescent food decision-making. Three specific types of parenting practices (expectation, monitoring, and inducement/enforcement behaviors), parenting style, and family communication style were investigated. A multi-method approach was taken to develop and test the integrated model. Study 1 used interviews to identify food-related parental expectation, monitoring, and inducement/enforcement behaviors reported by both normal and overweight parents and adolescents. Study 2 evaluated a structural model of adolescent food choice, including predictors from the Theory of Planned Behavior, the food-related parenting practices identified in the interviews, parenting style, and family communication style. The findings suggest that specific parenting practices have an impact on adolescent food choices beyond predictors from the TPB. / Ph. D.

As supported by ecological systems theory and the family stress model of economic hardship, socioeconomic status can directly be related to adolescent adjustment outcomes including self-regulation, academic performance, and substance use as well as be indirectly related to these outcomes through the mediator of parental monitoring. Data obtained from 220 adolescent (male = 55%, female = 45%, mean age = 15.12 years) and primary caregiver dyads participated in the study to examine the relationship between these variables. Analyses were conducted using Structural Equation Modeling, and the results of the study demonstrate that economic hardship is directly related to adolescent academic performance and also indirectly related to this outcome through maternal monitoring. Parental monitoring was also positively related to adolescent self-regulation. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of high levels of parental monitoring for beneficial adolescent self-regulation, academic, and substance use outcomes. / Master of Science

No description available.

The prevalence of aggression and delinquency increase during adolescence and are associated with psychosocial adjustment difficulties. It is important to identify aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship that may protect adolescents from these externalizing behaviors. The current study examined longitudinal relations between parental monitoring behaviors, child disclosure, and externalizing behaviors. Participants included 326 African American adolescents and their primary maternal caregivers, recruited from urban neighborhoods characterized by high rates of violence and low socioeconomic status. Participants provided data annually (three waves across two-year timeframe) through face-to-face interviews. Results of longitudinal path models showed that child disclosure predicted parental knowledge, and parental knowledge was associated with fewer externalizing outcomes. Higher levels of parental control predicted less child disclosure. Finally, parental acceptance predicted fewer child-reported delinquent behaviors through increased levels of child disclosure. Implications suggest that parent-adolescent communication and parental acceptance are protective factors, associated with decreased externalizing outcomes in African American youth.

Objective: Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common pediatric chronic illnesses. Adolescents are at risk for poorer adherence and in turn, poorer glycemic control; however, youth whose parents remain involved in diabetes care are in better control. A parent’s level of involvement is dependent in part upon his or her own social and emotional functioning. Much is known about the link between separate aspects of parent psychosocial functioning (e.g., depressive symptoms, parental stress) and parent involvement in diabetes care, adherence, and glycemic control. However, no study to our knowledge has examined these constructs simultaneously as they interrelate to one another and to youth diabetes status. Given the complexity of human behavior, use of multiple indicators of parent psychosocial status should provide a comprehensive portrayal of precursors to parental monitoring. Methods: The current study used structural equation modeling (SEM) in a sample of 257 parent-youth (aged 11-14) dyads (91% mothers) to examine comprehensive parent psychosocial functioning including parental distress, authoritative parenting, and parental self-efficacy for diabetes management as related to parental monitoring, youth adherence and glycemic control. Results: The SEM model fit the data well [χ2 (121) = 209.24, p < .001, CFI = .93, TLI = .91, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .08]. Overall, the model accounted for 30% of the variance in parental monitoring, 27% of the variance in adherence, and 22% of the variance in glycemic control. Specifically, lower levels of parental distress (i.e., depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and hypoglycemic fear) related to higher parental self-efficacy for diabetes management and more authoritative parenting, each of which in turn related to more parental monitoring. Further, higher parental self-efficacy related directly to better youth adherence. Conclusions: The current study shows interrelated paths of parent psychosocial functioning associated with parental monitoring of youth diabetes care and ultimately, youth adherence and glycemic control. Interventions that target diabetes adherence in adolescents with T1D should consider screening for and treatment of parental distress.

Substance use is a significant problem among middle school students in the United States. Research indicates that the early use of substances increases the likelihood of negative outcomes including long-term use and abuse. Both parenting and peer variables exert strong influences on children's decisions to use or abstain from substances. As children age, peers begin to exert a stronger influence, but parenting practices can significantly reduce peers' harmful influences. In this study, three waves of data (collected at the end of 6th grade, and the beginning and end of 7th grade) from a large multi-site study were used to examine the role of peer deviance as a mediator of the influence of parental monitoring on substance use among an ethnically diverse sample of over 2,500 middle school students. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the longitudinal interrelations among parental monitoring, peer deviance, and substance use among middle school students, and to investigate potential group differences by gender and family structure. The hypotheses that peer deviance and substance use would influence one another over time were upheld. The two variables were interrelated such that peer deviance produced increases in substance use over time, but so too did substance use produce peer deviance over time. The prospective relation between substance use and peer deviance was stronger than the converse relation, suggesting that substance using peers seek one another out. Parental monitoring was associated with decreases in substance use over time, but its influence was small. Parental monitoring was more strongly associated with decreases in peer deviance. However, parental monitoring's effect on substance use was not mediated by peer deviance over these 3 waves in that parental monitoring at Wave 1 did not predict substance use 1 year later. Contrary to hypothesis, substance use was not associated with changes in parental monitoring over time, although peer deviance was associated with less monitoring. In general, parental monitoring was more closely linked to peer deviance than it was to substance use. This study found no convincing evidence to suggest group differences in the overall pattern of findings according to gender or family structure.