Parental Social Support and Sources of Knowledge Interact to Predict Children’s Externalizing Behavior Over Time

Abstract

Parental social support and monitoring are associated with children's externalizing but clarity is needed on how these mechanisms interact to influence youth. This study examined if parental social support magnifies the protective effects of sources of parental knowledge (Parental Control, Parental Solicitation, Child Disclosure) on the development of substance initiation and delinquency across adolescence. Participants were 6-8 th graders (N=1,023; 52% female; 83% White; 87.8% non-Hispanic) from six (one urban, two rural, three suburban) Rhode Island schools assessed annually for four years. Parental control protected against substance initiation, but only in supportive relationships. All sources of parental knowledge were associated with less delinquency, but only in supportive relationships. Interventions focused on increasing children's perceptions of parental social support may enhance the effectiveness of sources of parental knowledge in buffering against children's externalizing behavior.

Parental support and monitoring as associated with adolescent alcohol and tobacco use by gender and age

“…The scale includes five items that were headed with the statement "How easy or hard would it be to receive the following from your parents/caregiver? ": [1] Caring and warmth; [2] Discussions about personal affairs; [3] Advice about school; [4] Advice about other issues (projects) of yours; [5] Assistance with other things. Response categories ranged from 1 = Very difficult to Relative Income (range 1.0-7.0) 5.0 (1.4) 4.9 (1.3) 4 = Very easy.…”

“…Parental monitoring Parental monitoring was assessed with four items used in previous studies [49,50] pertaining to parental knowledge about their children's whereabouts and their friends: [1] My parents/caregivers know whom I am with in the evenings; [2] My parents/caregivers know where I am in the evenings; [3] My parents/ caregivers know my friends; [4] My parents/caregivers know the parents of my friends. Response categories ranged from 1="Applies very well to me" to 4="Applies very poorly to me".…”

“…Parental support and monitoring have emerged as two important tools in efforts to reduce adolescent substance use and abuse [1][2][3][4][5]. Although the general value of these tools has been well supported, questions remain about how these tools might apply differently to adolescents of varying ages and genders in a manner that further enhances their effectiveness.…”

Parent-adolescent relationship characteristics and adolescent cannabis use: A growth curve analysis

“…Discipline is similar to the construct of parental control which, in the absence of a supportive relationship, is related to adolescent problem behavior (7,18). Similar findings exist for parental monitoring (57). In the context of co-occurring disorders interventions, it would be useful to explore in a more qualitative manner how parents perceive the effectiveness of using discipline as a strategy to manage adolescents' problem behavior.…”

Developmental Changes in Secrecy During Middle Adolescence: Links with Alcohol Use and Perceived Controlling Parenting

“…To date, there is only indirect evidence suggesting that changes in secrecy and alcohol use are related processes throughout adolescence. Indeed, existing studies mainly focused on the developmental associations between disclosure and substance use over time, showing that adolescents who experienced a greater increase in disclosure also reported a greater decrease in substance use (e.g., Micalizzi et al, 2019). In addition, reciprocal associations have also been shown, with lower levels of disclosure at age 14 predicting a greater increase in substance use over time (Barnes et al, 2000) and, conversely, low and stable levels of disclosure throughout adolescence being associated with higher levels of substance use at age 18 (Padilla-Walker et al, 2018).…”