Aims

1) To explore associations between early parenting and parental knowledge/monitoring of teenage behaviour.

2) To investigate associations between parenting and adolescent risk behaviour, with a view to establishing whether parental knowledge/monitoring mediates any associations between early parenting and adolescent risk involvement.

Background

Parental monitoring and knowledge of teenage behaviour have been widely identified as important protective elements limiting teenage risk involvement [1-8]. However, there is no consensus on processes covered by the terms parental knowledge or monitoring. Stattin and Kerr's work gave primacy to parental knowledge, emphasising the key role of children's disclosure of information [9-11]. Other work has indicated that parent-led behaviours, such as parental solicitation of information and rule-setting, may also be involved [12-14].

Comparatively little is known about what leads some parents to have lower levels of knowledge about their teenagers, or to monitor their children less attentively. A recent review of the relationship between parental monitoring and knowledge and conduct problems [15] has called for further research in this area. This review identified three main groups of possible antecedents to parental monitoring and knowledge: contextual, child characteristics and aspects of early parenting. Contextual factors influencing the level of monitoring/knowledge include the child's gender, family status, SES, ethnicity and neighbourhood; while child characteristics include early conduct problems, early antisocial behaviour and a difficult or "resistant to control" temperament. Both groups of factors have been relatively well studied. The focus of the current study is on the third group of antecedents, early parenting.

Various aspects of the parent-child relationship (parental trust in their child, authoritative parenting style, parental sensitivity/responsiveness) and time spent in family activities have been found to be associated with greater parental knowledge or teenage disclosure, but these have been studied only in teenagers [12, 13, 16-19]. Little is known about how parenting of young children may relate to parental monitoring and knowledge of teenagers. Two (related) studies have suggested the importance of early "proactive" parenting: averting potential problems in early childhood before they become entrenched [20, 21]. While anticipating behavioural problems seems to be a useful parental strategy that may lay foundations for successful monitoring of teenagers, the teenage research suggests additional qualities related to early parent-child connectedness and behaviour management may also be important.

Hypotheses:

1. Early parent-child connectedness and behaviour management will be associated with (respectively) greater teenage disclosure of information and greater parental control of a teenager's behaviour.

2. Teenage disclosure and parental control will both be associated with teenage risk involvement.

3. Early parenting will be associated with teenage risk, directly and/or indirectly via parental knowledge and monitoring.

Research using ALSPAC data set

Outcome measures

Stattin and Kerr measures of parental knowledge, parental solicitation, parental control and child disclosure were collected from the 13-year old clinic sample and from their parents. Child-reported teenage risk behaviour (antisocial behaviour, substance use and sexual behaviour) was collected from the age 15 clinic sample and questionnaires at a comparable age.

Main exposures

Measures of early parenting were collected from mothers at ages 2 1/2, 3 1/2 and 6 years, covering important aspects of parenting such as connection, conflict, autonomy, rule-setting, and discipline.

Potential confounders

Likely important confounders of associations between early parenting and parental monitoring and knowledge of teenagers include contextual factors (gender, SES, ethnic group, and family status), and childhood behavioural problems, risky friendships and involvement in antisocial behaviour. Maternal mental health, parental substance use, quality of partner relationship and child pubertal development will also be explored as potentially important confounders of associations between early parenting and adolescent risk outcomes.

References

1. Hoeve, M., et al., The Relationship Between Parenting and Delinquency: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2009. 37(6): p. 749-775.

2. Dishion, T.J. and R.J. McMahon, Parental Monitoring and the Prevention of Child and Adolescent Problem Behavior: A Conceptual and Empirical Formulation. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1998. 1(1): p. 61-75.

3. Li, X.M., S. Feigelman, and B. Stanton, Perceived parental monitoring and health risk behaviors among urban low-income African-American children and adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2000. 27(1): p. 43-48.

4. DiClemente, R.J., et al., Parental monitoring: Association with adolescents' risk behaviors. Pediatrics, 2001. 107(6): p. 1363-1368.

5. Boyer, T.W., The development of risk-taking: A multi-perspective review. Developmental Review, 2006. 26(3): p. 291-345.

6. Li, X.M., B. Stanton, and S. Feigelman, Impact of perceived parental monitoring on adolescent risk behavior over 4 years. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2000. 27(1): p. 49-56.

7. Huebner, A.J. and L.W. Howell, Examining the relationship between adolescent sexual risk- taking and perceptions of monitoring, communication, and parenting styles. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2003. 33(2): p. 71-78.

8. Rai, A.A., et al., Relative influences of perceived parental monitoring and perceived peer involvement on adolescent risk behaviors: An analysis of six cross-sectional data sets. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2003. 33(2): p. 108-118.

9. Stattin, H. and M. Kerr, Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 2000. 71(4): p. 1072-1085.

10. Kerr, M. and H. Stattin, What parents know, how they know it, and several forms of adolescent adjustment: Further support for a reinterpretation of monitoring. Developmental Psychology, 2000. 36(3): p. 366-380.

11. Kerr, M., H. Stattin, and W.J. Burk, A Reinterpretation of Parental Monitoring in Longitudinal Perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2010. 20(1): p. 39-64.

12. Fletcher, A.C., L. Steinberg, and M. Williams-Wheeler, Parental influences on adolescent problem behavior: Revisiting Stattin and Kerr. Child Development, 2004. 75(3): p. 781-796.

13. Soenens, B., et al., Parenting and adolescent problem behavior: An integrated model with adolescent self-disclosure and perceived parental knowledge as intervening variables. Developmental Psychology, 2006. 42(2): p. 305-318.

14. Wight, D., L. Williamson, and M. Henderson, Parental influences on young people's sexual behaviour: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 2006. 29(4): p. 473-494.

15. Racz, S.J. and R.J. McMahon, The relationship between parental knowledge and monitoring and child and adolescent conduct problems: a 10-year update. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev, 2011. 14(4): p. 377-98.

16. Smetana, J.G., et al., Disclosure and secrecy in adolescent-parent relationships. Child Development, 2006. 77(1): p. 201-217.

17. Keijsers, L., et al., Reciprocal Effects Between Parental Solicitation, Parental Control, Adolescent Disclosure, and Adolescent Delinquency. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2010. 20(1): p. 88-113.

18. Willoughby, T. and C. Hamza, A Longitudinal Examination of the Bidirectional Associations Among Perceived Parenting Behaviors, Adolescent Disclosure and Problem Behavior Across the High School Years. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2011. 40(4): p. 463-478.

19. Darling, N., et al., Predictors of adolescents' disclosure to parents and perceived parental knowledge: Between- and within-person differences. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2006. 35(4): p. 667-678.

20. Pettit, G.S., et al., Predicting the developmental course of mother-reported monitoring across childhood and adolescence from early proactive parenting, child temperament, and parents' worries. Journal of Family Psychology, 2007. 21(2): p. 206-217.

21. Pettit, G.S., et al., Antecedents and Behavior-Problem Outcomes of Parental Monitoring and Psychological Control in Early Adolescence. Child Development, 2001. 72(2): p. 583-598.