Mothers’ and fathers’ insights into teenagers’ use of the internet

Abstract

Previous research indicates that parents have limited insight into their teenagers’ activities and experiences on the internet. The purpose of the present study was therefore to investigate associations between mothers’ and fathers’ insight and teenagers’ experiences of the internet. A total of 538 teenagers (242 girls, 296 boys), aged between 13 and 15, and their 798 parents (491 mothers, 307 fathers) participated in the present study. Findings revealed that parental trust in sensible teenage internet use and parental active participation in teenage internet use were related to parental insight into teenage experiences on the internet. It is possible that a relationship based on trust and active engagement facilitates parental insight into teenage activities.

Keywords

Family relationship internet parents and adolescents

In years gone, teenagers’ social arenas were spatially located in the immediate environment and included, for example, school, friends’ homes and activities in youth and leisure centres. In contemporary societies the additional everyday arena of the internet has emerged (Livingstone, 2010). Studies from Western and Asian societies indicate that more than 90 per cent of teenagers aged between 12 and 16 report using the internet frequently, and that about half of these teenagers use the internet every day, in some cases for several hours a day (Ferguson, 2000; Fleming et al., 2006; Gross, 2004; Lin and Yu, 2008; Lin et al., 2009; Livingstone and Bober, 2005; Mediarådet, 2005; Park et al., 2008; Stahl and Fritz, 2002). EU Kids Online, a European research project including 25 countries, indicates that the percentage of youths using the internet every day increases from about 30 per cent at ages 9–10 years, to about 80 per cent among 15–16-year-olds (Livingstone et al., 2011).

As the internet offers productive content and communication opportunities as well as harmful content and interactions, the challenge for many parents is to seek a balance for their teenagers between opportunity and danger (Livingstone and Bober, 2006). Research suggests that parental interest in teenage activities and where they are taking place benefits teenage development and social adjustment (for a review see Stattin and Kerr, 2000). However, previous research has shown that parents have limited insight into the types of experience teenagers have on the internet and that the internet seems to constitute an environment where there is limited supervision from adults (Cho and Cheon, 2005; Liau and Khoo, 2008; SAFT-study, 2003). Cho and Cheon (2005) have shown that there is no relation between parents’ knowledge about the internet and skills using the internet on the one hand and insight and perceived control over teenagers’ internet use on the other hand, although parents have expressed the opinion that it is difficult to discuss, be involved, and set up rules and limits when their teenagers know so much more about the internet and how to use it than they do themselves (Wang et al., 2005). In the final report from EU Kids Online (Livingstone et al., 2011) the researchers state that it is essential to find out more about parents that do not have a great interest in their children’s internet use and to target these parents with information about the importance of parental awareness and support. Parents’ insight into their children’s internet activities might be of extra interest, as well as parental strategies to gain insight. In order to be able to draw conclusions about mothers’ and fathers’ insight, the present study draws on reports from parents and children belonging to the same family about teenagers’ experiences of inappropriate and distressing material, as well as situations when feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied.

Teenager’s inappropriate internet experiences

Pornography, violence, agitation against a person or group of people and defamatory and insulting messages are types of material often considered inappropriate for children and teenagers by teachers, researchers and parents. Inappropriate content, material and situations are also often referred to in the literature as doubtful or negative content, material and situations. Nevertheless, the term inappropriate is subsequently going to be used in the present article. Several Swedish and international studies show that about 60 per cent of teenagers using the internet report visiting, either deliberately or inadvertently, internet sites containing such material and, further, one in five teenagers reports at some time having felt upset by the content on a Web site they have visited (Livingstone and Bober, 2005; Mediarådet, 2005; SAFT-study, 2003). The study by Fleming et al. (2006) points to the fact that a higher number of boys than girls get in contact with both pornographic as well as violent and/or gory material, but that boys’ and girls’ contact with distressing material is fairly equal. Teenagers’ negative reactions to different kinds of material and situations vary. For example, experiences with bullying are regarded as more upsetting than contact with pornography (Livingstone et al., 2011). Even though boys generally experience more bullying and attacks on the internet, girls are often considerably more affected by attacks of a sexual character (Pernemalm and Lindgren, 2009). Furthermore, EU Kids Online indicates that it is more common in some countries, for example in Sweden, that youths report that they have become upset (23%), than in some other countries (for example Italy and Germany). Online risks of victimization in the form of cyber- bullying and other forms of threat have received increased attention in recent years from researchers and society. Several studies support the finding of the use of harsher language and expression of harsher attitudes on the internet (Björnstad and Ellingsen, 2002). Reports of online cyber-bullying and threats on the internet vary across studies. However, studies suggest that as many as 50 to 70 per cent of adolescents, aged between 12 and 17, have been exposed to cyber-bullying and threats on the internet at least once in their lifetime and almost one-fifth of teenagers in the same age range report having been exposed to repeated cyber-bullying experiences during the previous year (Juvonen and Gross, 2008; Pernemalm and Lindgren, 2009).

Parental insight

Parents underestimate the degree of contact that their teenagers have with inappropriate information on the internet. In general about half of teenagers who have come in contact with inappropriate material and/or situations have parents that do not believe this has been the case (Livingstone et al., 2011). Furthermore, about 70 per cent of parents do not find it likely that their teenagers will come in contact with anything upsetting on the internet in the next six months (Livingstone et al., 2011). Despite these discrepant parent and teenage reports, the majority of parents (60–80%) nevertheless believed that they had good or fairly good knowledge about their teenagers’ internet activities (MAN, 2000; Sorbring, 2008). Also, when it comes to bullying experiences parents underestimate teenagers’ exposure. In a study where one-third of teenagers reported that they had felt bullied on the internet, only 4 per cent of parents reported that their teenagers have been subjected to cyber-bullying (Cho and Cheon, 2005; Liau and Khoo, 2008; SAFT-study, 2003).

Parental strategies

In research focusing on traditional everyday teenage arenas, teenage disclosure has been found to be the most important source of insight for parents, and controlling strategies were less effective (Stattin and Kerr, 2000). In a recent study, only 8 per cent of teenagers who viewed material on the internet that upset them reported that they had told a parent about distressing experiences (Fleming et al., 2006). Similar findings are reported in studies on cyber-bullying where only 10 per cent of teenagers who have been exposed to such victimization report disclosing these experiences to an adult (Juvonen and Gross, 2008). It may be plausible to assume that an important means for parents to gain insights into teenagers’ leisure activities is through the teenagers’ willingness to disclose information and that the teenagers’ willingness is positively affected by a good relationship and engaged parents and negatively affected by control strategies (Juvonen and Gross, 2008). Parents sometimes use different kinds of control strategies to gain insight and to influence teenagers’ internet use. For example, about 85 per cent have a rule about sharing personal information; furthermore about 50 per cent of parents check their children’s activities afterwards (Livingstone et al., 2011). The study by Mitchell et al. (2005) suggests that parents’ use of filters is greater when the parents view their children as being less competent in using the internet, in combination with parents’ belief that their children do not use the internet responsibly. On the internet it is possible for teenagers to engage in various activities and to form and maintain different social contacts with individuals whom their parents do not have relationships with or even knowledge about. Therefore, teenage self disclosure may be a particularly important source of information. In the Lenhart (2005) study, two-thirds of teenagers, aged 12–17, reported that they engage in activities on the internet that they do not want their parents to have any knowledge about. These findings are further supported by research indicating that 65 per cent of teenagers aged 12–19 reported that they had tried to withhold information about their activities on the internet from their parents (Livingstone and Bober, 2005). One-third of teenagers reported fearing that their parents would restrict access to the internet if they learned about some of the activities that take place on the internet (Juvonen and Gross, 2008).

Another way of gaining insight into teenagers’ lifestyles is through active parental participation (Waizenhofer et al., 2002). Waizenhofer et al. (2002) found that parental insight was related to discussions with the teenager, having relationships with people who had knowledge about the teenager’s everyday activities, and active participation in the teenager’s daily activities. The study by Cho and Cheon (2005) indicated that this might be true even for internet activity. Parental participation in children’s internet use, like shared web activities, is positively related to parental insight. Cho and Cheon suggest that shared web activities are mediated by family cohesion, indicating that positive family relationships are important. Livingstone and Helsper (2008) were unable to detect any connections either between parental insight and active co-use, or between parental active co-use of the internet and children’s experiences. However, active co-use was shown to be one of the favoured strategies for parents in regulating their children’s internet use. Parents use different forms of participation. For example, about 70 per cent talk to their teenagers about their activities on the internet and about 60 per cent try to stay close when their teenagers are using the internet (Livingstone et al., 2011).

The current study

The aim of the present study was to investigate mothers’ and fathers’ insight into teenagers’ (a) contact with pornography, violence and agitation against a person or group of people, (b) experiences of being threatened or bullied and (c) other experiences perceived by the teenager as distressing. Boys and girls will be looked at both separately and together, as research indicates that there is sometimes a divergence of internet-related experiences between boys and girls. We tested three hypotheses based in the literature.

The literature indicates that parents use a battery of strategies to have insight into and also to influence teenagers’ internet use. These strategies might vary in effectiveness of getting insight and we therefore hypothesize:

(1) that parents making use of parental strategies associated more with engagement and less with control will have more insights into the teenagers’ internet experiences, than other parents.

Furthermore, the literature suggests that parents’ trust and confidence in the teenager might be important. We therefore hypothesize:

(2) that parents who feel confident about their teenagers will have more insights into the teenagers’ internet experiences than other parents.

Finally, there are studies indicating that parents’ insight might be affected by their own internet use and their relationship and perception of the teenager. We therefore hypothesize:

(3) that parents who are more competent and secure with the internet will have less insight into the teenagers’ internet experiences than other parents.

Method

Participants

Participants were teenagers and their parents living in an area located in the mid-west of Sweden. One thousand teenagers and their parents were asked to participate in the present study. Teenagers and parents were recruited via the teenagers’ school. 538 teenagers (242 girls and 296 boys) and their 798 parents (491 mothers and 307 fathers) took part in the study. Teenagers and parents, in each case, thus belonged to the same family. The teenagers were in the final years of compulsory school with 34.6% in the seventh grade, 31.5% in the eighth grade and 33.9% in the ninth grade. The average age of students in the above grades is 13, 14 and 15, respectively. The Mean age of the teenagers at the time of the study was 14 years (SD = .87). Mothers were aged between 29 and 59 years (M = 43.06, SD = 4.84) while fathers were aged between 33 and 64 years of age (M = 45.66, SD = 5.47). The highest level of educational attainment for mothers was: 8.4% had nine years at compulsory school, 53.6% had attended upper secondary school and 38% had studied at university or university college for at least one semester. For fathers, the highest level of educational attainment was: 16.9% had nine years at compulsory school, 56.8% had attended upper secondary school, 26.3% had studied at university or university college for at least one semester. The level of educational attainment of parents was similar to that in Sweden as a whole for the relevant age span (Statistics Sweden, 2009). With regard to teenagers’ family situation, 381 teenagers lived together with both parents, 39 mostly with their mother, six mostly with their father, 42 lived equally often with their mother and their father, 54 lived only with their mother, nine lived only with their father and five teenagers lived with someone other than a parent. These living conditions are similar to the living situations of Swedish youth as a whole in this age-span (Statistics Sweden, 2009).

Procedure

The teenagers were recruited via their schools. The parents were contacted and informed about the aims of the study, what participation would entail and their right to decline or withdraw at any time. A copy of the questionnaire was enclosed together with this information. Twenty per cent of the parents who responded (about 160 parents out of 798) returned their completed questionnaire by post, with the remainder of responding parents (about 638 parents out of 798) returning their completed questionnaires subsequent to a telephone reminder. The teenagers completed their questionnaires during class, with either one of the researchers or a trained teacher present. For the students, both parental, as well as their own consent, was required.

Measurements

Teenage internet use

Teenage frequency of internet use: Teenagers were asked to indicate on a five-point scale how often they used the internet. Response alternatives were: ‘Never/almost never’ (=1), ‘Once or twice a month’ (=2), ‘A few times a week’ (=3), ‘Every day, less than three hours’ (=4), ‘Every day, more than three hours’ (=5).

Teenage experiences on the internet: Teenagers were asked whether they had: (1) come into contact with pornography, violence or agitation against a person or group of people and (2) been threatened, humiliated or bullied via email. For both questions, they indicated their response on a five-point scale where alternatives ranged from ‘Has never happened’ (=1) to ‘Has happened very often’ (=5). Further, we chose to ask a particular question regarding their contact with material that they themselves perceived as distressing. The scale was the same as above.

Parental insight into teenagers’ experience of the internet

Three father–teenager dyad deviation scores and three mother–teenager dyad deviation scores were created. The purpose of these three deviation scores was to study parental insight into teenage (1) experiences of material on the internet related to pornography, violence/blood and agitation against a person or group, (2) experiences of material on the internet that the teenager perceived as distressing and (3) experiences of being threatened, humiliated or bullied. As previous research (Cho and Cheon, 2005) indicates that parental insight can vary depending on type of activities and experiences, insight into teenage activities and experiences were separated into four different types of insight measures. Parental self reports were subtracted from the teenagers’ own self reports, thus creating a deviation measure indicating the degree of parental insight on a scale from 0 upwards by removing the minus sign on those deviation scores where the parents overestimated their teenager’s experiences of various content or activities. This meant that the greater the value of these parental deviation variables, the greater the deviation between parental and teenage reports. Minus signs were removed in order to be able to use statistical analyses based on correlations.

Parents’ internet use, attitudes and skills

Parental use of the internet: Parents were asked ‘How often do you use the internet?’ Response alternatives ranged as indicated above from: ‘Never/almost never’ (=1) to ‘Every day, more than three hours’ (=5).

Parental perceptions of the importance of internet use for the teenager: Seven items (Cronbach’s alpha = .84) focused on the importance parents believed that the internet had for their teenager’s development and lifestyle. Areas of focus were: schoolwork, contact with friends, enjoyment, hobbies, computer skills, participation in society, opportunities for expressing opinions. All items were measured on a five-point scale ranging from ‘Not important’ (=1) to ‘Very important’ (=5).

Parental self-reported internet skills: In order to measure parental self-perception of their own competence using the internet, an instrument previously used by Novak, Hoffman and Yung (2000) was used. The original instrument has been modified by removing one item (an item that was misunderstood by several participants) and the inclusion of a new item (about ability to chat). Participants are required to self-report about their own ability to use the internet (for example ‘I am extremely skilled at using the internet’, ‘I know exactly how to find what I am looking for on the internet’) on a five-point scale ranging from ‘Do not agree at all’ (=1) to ‘Strongly agree’ (=5). Cronbach’s alpha for these six items was .84.

Parents’ trust and beliefs about teenage internet use

Parental beliefs about teenage internet skills: In order to measure parental beliefs about teenage internet skills the same instrument as described above was used (Novak et al., 2000) with the same modifications to the original instrument as described above. Instead of self-reporting about their own ability, parents were asked to report about their teenager’s ability (for example, ‘I think that she/he is extremely skilled at using the internet’). Cronbach’s alpha for these six items was .85.

Parental trust in teenage use of the internet: Parental trust in their teenager’s responsible use of the internet was measured by five items (Cronbach’s alpha = .85) that focused on whether parents believed that their teenager avoided visiting inappropriate sites, did not spend too much time on the computer, used the internet responsibly and used the internet according to what had been agreed with parents. On a five-point scale parents rated the extent to which they trusted their teenager. Response alternatives ranged from ‘Absolutely not’ (=1) to ‘Completely’ (=5).

Parental strategies

Parental engagement in teenage use of the internet: Parental engagement in teenage use of the internet was divided into four categories: (1) Parent questions consisted of four items (Cronbach’s alpha = .83), such as, ‘Have you asked your child what she/he uses the internet for?’(2) Active participation (Cronbach’s alpha = .55) consisted of three items, for example ‘How often have you sat down with your child when she/he used the internet?’ (3) Conversations consisted of two items (Cronbach’s alpha = .68), for example ‘How often have you talked with your child about what type of information the internet contains and what the internet can be used for?’ (4) Teenage disclosure consisted of five items (Cronbach’s alpha = .79), for example ‘How often has your child told you to whom she/he chats?’ All 14 items concerned experiences during the preceding year and were self-rated on a five-point scale ranging from ‘Has never happened’ (=1) to ‘Very often’ (=5).

Parental control strategies: Parental control strategies consisted of four items (Cronbach’s alpha = .76): ‘How often have you demanded to know which websites your teenager has visited?’ ‘How often have you demanded to know whom your child chats with?’ ‘How often have you tried to track the websites your teenager has visited?’ ‘How often have you interfered with how your child uses the internet?’ Response alternatives ranged from ‘Has never happened’ (=1) to ‘Very often’ (=5).

Rules around using the internet: Parents were asked whether they had rules regarding use of the internet. They were asked about whether their teenager was allowed to talk/chat to strangers, visit any websites, disclose personal information, publish pictures of her/himself on the internet (except closed sites), have access to the internet for unlimited time. Parents responded either ‘Yes’ (=1) or ‘No’ (=0) to these five questions about parental rules. Added together, the value for the variable was between 0 and 5.

Results

The results are divided into three sections: Teenage internet experiences, Parental insight and Parental insight in relation to various aspects of parental behaviours, beliefs and attitudes.

Teenagers’ internet experiences

The majority of 526 teenagers reported using the internet every day. About 40% reported using the internet every day for less than three hours a day, whereas about 25% reported using the internet every day for more than three hours a day. About 31% reported using the internet a few times a week. About 3% reported using the internet once or twice a month. Only about 1% reported that they never/almost never used the internet.

Experiences of inappropriate material

The teenagers were asked about whether they, in the preceding year, had come across websites with pornographic material, violent and bloody material and material related to persecution and agitation against a person or group of people (Table 1). Of the 49.5% who reported having come across pornographic material, 2.2% reported having come across such material fairly or very often. Of the 35.1% who reported having come across bloody or violent material, 2.6% reported having come across such material fairly or very often. Out of the 25% reporting having come across material related to agitation against a person or a group of people, 1.6% reported this as happening fairly or very often. In total, 62.1% of the 521 teenagers reported that on some occasion during the preceding year, they had come into contact with some kind of inappropriate material (pornographic material, violent and bloody material and/or material related to persecution and agitation against a person or group of people).

Table 1.

Percentage and number of boys and girls reporting experiences of inappropriate material and situations on the internet during the last year.

Experiences	All		Girls		Boys

	%	N	%	n	%	n
Pornographic material	49.5	521	31.0	236	65.4	285
Violent and bloody material	35.1	521	23.2	237	45.1	284
Persecution and agitation against a person or group of people	25.0	521	21.8	238	27.6	283
Distressing material	31.4	523	31.7	237	31.0	286
Feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied	22.3	529	32.2	241	13.9	288
Experiences of pornography, violent and bloody and/or persecution and agitation	62.1	514	43.4	236	72.5	278

Experiences of encountering distressing material

Of the 523 teenagers, 31.4% reported having come across websites containing material that they perceived as distressing during the preceding year and 1.7% reported having come across such material fairly often.

Experiences of feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied

Teenagers were asked about the extent to which they had felt threatened, humiliated or bullied via e-mail in open or non-open chat. Out of 529 teenagers, 22.3% reported having felt threatened, humiliated or bullied during the past year and 0.2% reported this happening very often.

Parental insight

As described in the methodology, deviation measures were created in order to study whether parents had insights into teenage (1) experiences of material related to pornography, violence/blood and agitation against a person or group, (2) experiences of material that the teenager perceived as distressing and (3) experiences of being threatened, humiliated or bullied. As described under ‘measurements’, the decision was taken not to distinguish between parental overestimates and underestimates when using correlational analyses since correlational analyses cannot be interpreted if data incorporates both positive and negative signs. Deviation scores for mothers and fathers separately are displayed in Table 2. In order to investigate whether there was a significant interaction between same sex (mother–daughter, father–son) and cross-sex (mother–son, father–daughter) dyads, with regard to parental insight into teenage activities on the internet, two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were carried out for each deviation score (presented below). However, in order to also receive information about whether parents overestimated or underestimated various teenage activities, descriptive statistics will also be presented without removing minus signs. As parental scores were subtracted from teenage scores, a negative deviation score indicated parental overestimation whereas a positive deviation score indicated parental underestimation.

Table 2.

Means, standard deviation (SD), and number of respondents (n) on the four parental deviation measures of insight into teenage experiences, presented for mothers and fathers separately.

Parental deviation measure	Mothers		Fathers

	Mean (SD)	N	Mean (SD)	n
Activities	.44 (.38)	402	.41 (.35)	264
Inappropriate material	.59 (.54)	455	.65 (.51)	283
Distressing material	1.62 (.77)	470	1.60 (.69)	293
Feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied	.43 (.61)	470	.39 (.54)	295

Insight into teenagers’ experiences of inappropriate material

Descriptive statistics revealed that 62.1% of the teenagers reported that on at least one occasion during the preceding year they had come across inappropriate material on the internet. Furthermore, 67.5% of the mothers and 76.6% of the fathers reported believing that their teenager had come across inappropriate material on the internet during the preceding year. A significant main effect was found for sex of child, where both mothers and fathers had greater parental insight into girls’ experiences of inappropriate material: Father–Daughter (M = .54, SD = .48), Mother–Daughter (M = .54, SD = .51), Father–Son (M = .74, SD = .53), Mother–Son (M = .63, SD = .56), F = 13.71, df = 1,734, p < .001. Descriptive statistics calculated without removing minus signs revealed that both mothers (M = .32, SD = .73) and fathers (M = .42, SD = .70) generally underestimated the extent to which teenagers came into contact with inappropriate material. However, no significant difference was found between mothers’ and fathers’ insights into teenage experiences of inappropriate material (p > .05).

Insight into teenage experiences of distressing material

Descriptive statistics revealed that 31.4% of teenagers, in contrast to 58.4% of mothers and 61.7% of fathers, reported that, on at least one occasion during the preceding year, they had come into contact with material that had upset them. No significant interaction or main effects were found (all p > .05). Descriptive statistics calculated without removing minus signs revealed that mothers generally underestimated (M = 1.25, SD = .44) whereas fathers overestimated (M = -.48, SD = .71) the extent to which teenagers came into contact with material perceived as distressing. This difference was significant, (t(420,26) = -37.73, p < .001, equal variances not assumed, Cohens d = 2.92).

Insight into teenage experiences of feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied

Descriptive statistics revealed that 22.3% of the teenagers, in contrast to 35.6% of the mothers and 34.9% of the fathers, reported that on some occasion during the preceding year they had had experiences of feeling threatened, humiliated and bullied on the internet. A significant main effect was found for sex of child where both mothers and fathers had greater parental insight into boys’ experiences of feeling threatened, humiliated and bullied: Father–Son (M = .31, SD = .50), Mother–Son (M = .35, SD = .56), Father–Daughter (M = .47, SD = .57), Mother–Daughter (M = .54, SD = .66), F = 16.83, df = 1,761, p < .001. Descriptive statistics calculated without removing minus signs revealed that both mothers (M = –.54, SD = .75) and fathers (M = –.26, SD = .61) generally overestimated the extent to which teenagers felt threatened, humiliated, or bullied. The difference between mothers and fathers was significant, (t(714,77) = 5,66, p < .001, equal variances not assumed, Cohens d = .41).

Parental insight in relation to various aspects of parental behaviours, beliefs and attitudes

Three standard linear multiple regression analyses, for mothers and for fathers respectively, were carried out, using the three parental deviation measures of insight into teenage experiences as response variables. Eleven predictor variables were used: Parental frequency of internet use; Parental perception of the importance of internet use for the teenager; Parental self-reported internet skills; Parental beliefs about their teenager’s internet skills; Parental trust in the teenager using the internet sensibly; Parental engagement – Parents’ questions; Parental engagement – Active participation; Parental engagement – Conversations; Parental engagement – Teenage disclosure; Parental control strategies; and Rules around internet use. Prior to carrying out the linear multiple regressions, collinearity between the independent variables was assessed by conducting Pearson’s correlation coefficients between all pairs of independent variables. Multicollinearity was not considered a problem as r < .7 for all bivariate correlations (Howitt and Cramer, 2011). Five of the six standard linear multiple regression models that were carried out were significant (see Table 3). The variance explained by these five significant models was between 12% and 16%. The predictor variables are described separately below and presented in the text in relation to each hypothesis.

Table 3.

Summary of standard linear multiple regression analyses with fathers’ and mothers’ parental deviation measures as response variables in three separate linear multiple regression analyses with 11 predictor variables.

	Inappropriate material		Distressing material		Feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied
	Father	Mother	Father	Mother	Father	Mother
Parental frequency of internet use	.08	.14*	.14*	.03	.13	.22***
Parental perceptions about the importance of internet for the teenager	.05	−.06	−.14*	−.00	−.12	−.09
Parental self-reported internet skills	−.00	.10	.03	.11	.01	−.05
Parental beliefs about teenagers’ internet skills	−.04	.02	.03	.04	.11	.04
Parental trust in teenagers using the internet sensibly	−.20**	−.25***	−.27***	−.27***	−.16*	−.14**
Parental engagement – Parents’ questions	.06	.15	−.09	.07	.09	.04
Parental engagement – Active participation	−.03	.01	−.15*	.03	−.13	−.04
Parental engagement – Conversations	.06	−.10	.17*	.07	.20*	.01
Parental engagement – Teenage disclosure	−.03	.05	.14	.11	.03	.12
Parental control strategies	−.04	−.06	−.06	−.06	.00	.14
Parental rules around the internet use	−.12	−.09	.06	−.04	−.07	−.09
R ²	.06	.12	.16	.13	.13	.13
F(df )	1.39 (11.23)	4.39*** (11.34)	4.08*** (11.23)	4.63*** (11.35)	3.23*** (11.23)	4.64*** (11.35)

Standardized Beta coefficients and significance levels are presented for each predictor variable, in relation to the four parental deviation measures of insight.

R² for each standard linear multiple regressions carried out is presented as well as F values for each model.

Negative standardized Beta coefficients indicate that greater values on the predictor variables are associated with less discrepant reports between teenagers and parents; i.e. more parental insight (response variables).

p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Parental strategies

Parental strategies are constituted by Parental engagement, Parental control and Parental rules. Parental degree of self-reported control strategies was not a significant predictor of parental insight, nor was parental degree of self-reported use of rules around their teenager’s use of the internet. Parental engagement, which is divided into four categories: Parents’ questions, Active participation, Conversations and Teenage disclosure, was significant. Parental degree of active participation in teenage use of the internet was a significant predictor for fathers’ insights into teenage experiences of distressing material, indicating that the greater degree of active participation from fathers in their teenagers’ use of the internet, the less discrepant reports from teenagers and fathers. The degree of parental conversations with teenagers about their use of the internet was a significant predictor of both fathers’ insights into teenage experiences of feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied and fathers’ insights into teenage experiences of distressing material, indicating that the greater the degree of parental conversation, the more discrepant reports from teenagers and fathers. However, parental reports of teenage disclosure and parental degree of asking questions about teenage use of the internet were not significant predictors of parental insight.

Parental beliefs about teenagers’ skills and sensibility in using the internet

Parental beliefs about the teenager are constituted by Parental beliefs about teenagers’ internet skills and Parental trust in teenagers using the internet sensibly. Parental beliefs were not significant predictors of parental insight (all p > .05). However, Parental trust was a significant predictor for both mothers’ and fathers’ insights into teenage experiences of (a) inappropriate material, (b) distressing material and (c) of feeling threatened, humiliated and bullied, indicating that greater parental trust in teenagers using the internet sensibly was related to greater parental insight.

Parents’ internet use, attitudes and skills

Parents’ own internet practices are constituted by Parental frequency of internet use, Parental perceptions about the importance of the internet for the teenager and Parental self-reported internet skills. Mothers’ own frequency of internet use significantly predicted mothers’ insights into teenage experiences of inappropriate material and experiences of feeling threatened, humiliated and bullied. Fathers’ own frequency of internet use significantly predicted fathers’ insights into teenage experiences of distressing material. The more frequent parental use the more discrepant reports from parents and teenagers (less insight). Fathers’ perceptions of the importance of the internet for teenagers also significantly predicted fathers’ insights into teenage experiences of distressing material. The more positive attitudes, the less discrepant parent and teenager self reports (more insight). However, parental reports of their own internet skills were not significant predictors of parental insight.

Discussion

In addressing the issue of parents’ insights into their teenagers’ experiences of the internet, the present study has the advantages that, in each case, the participants were parents and teenagers belonging to the same family. This represents a substantial contrast to previous research, where in many cases, self reports from parents and teenagers from different families have been used or the parents’ perception of having control has been the only insight measure. In sum, the greatest degree of parental insight was possessed by parents who (1) themselves were less frequent users of the internet, (2) perceived the internet to be important for the teenager’s development, (3) reported trusting their teenager to use the internet responsibly, (4) reported a greater degree of active parental participation in their teenager’s internet use and (5) reported lower frequencies of parental conversation around their teenager’s use of the internet. Both fathers and mothers in the present study overestimated teenagers’ experiences of feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied. It is possible that these are experiences teenagers more frequently talk to parents about, than, for example, experiences of pornography, violence or agitation. Mothers underestimated teenagers’ experiences with distressing material significantly more than fathers, who instead generally overestimated teenage experiences of distressing material. Cho and Cheon (2005) suggest that parental underestimation of teenagers’ exposure to negative internet material and situations means that teenagers have more experiences than is suspected and therefore the negative consequences can be more serious than parents might suspect. Parents of girls had better insights into their children’s contact with inappropriate material, although both mothers and fathers generally had greater insight into boys’ experiences of feeling threatened, humiliated or bullied.

The research area of parenting has shown that teenagers’ disclosure of information is one of the most effective ways for parents to gain insight and that teenagers’ willingness to disclose information is positively affected by a positive parent–child relationship. Therefore, the first hypothesis was that parents’ making use of parental strategies associated more with engagement and less with control would have more insights into the teenagers’ internet experiences, than other parents. The hypothesis was partially supported. Fathers who reported frequent active participation in their teenager’s use of the internet (for example sitting with their teenager while she/he used the computer or asked their teenager for help) had greater insight. Some researchers have indicated that active parental participation in child and teenage use of the internet is related to increased parental insight (Cho and Cheon, 2005), however in other studies this relationship has not been established (Livingstone and Helsper, 2008). Indeed, parental support and monitoring of this kind of activity have been shown to reduce the risk of internet dependency among teenagers (Lin et al., 2009). However, in other ways the hypothesis was not supported. The study did not show any significant relations between either parents’ questions or parents’ reports of child disclosure and parental insight. The study even showed that a greater degree of parental conversation is related to less parental insight. Livingstone and Helsper (2008) also found that the more parents reported conversing about the internet, the less parental insight. It might be that these conversations and questions are not viewed by the teenagers as parental strategies associated with engagement, but more with parental control. Alternatively, the effort by parents to have conversations about internet use may be a reflection of parental worry about loss of insight into what the teenager is using the internet for.

Hypothesis two was that parents who feel confident about their teenagers will have more insights into the teenagers’ internet experiences than other parents. Results from the present study show that parents’ trust in their teenager to use the internet sensibly is related to increased parental insight, a result supporting the hypotheses. One plausible interpretation of this finding may be that parental trust reflects a relationship between parent and teenager based on mutual respect. A close and respectful relationship between teenager and parent may in turn result in teenage use of the internet in accordance with what has been agreed with parents. Trust between a parent and a child may thus reflect that the child understands that the parent is trying to guide the child in order to protect the child from harm. When the child trusts the parent’s guidance the child may be more honest towards the parent. Furthermore, a positive relationship, coloured with trust, might make the teenager more willing to include the parent in her/his everyday activities, which in turn has positive effects on the parent’s insight (Fletcher et al., 2004; Stattin and Kerr, 2000).

Hypothesis three was that parents who were more competent and secure with the internet would have less insight into the teenagers’ internet experiences than other parents. This hypothesis was partially supported. As expected, parents’ greater degree of own use of the internet was related to less parental insight. Parents who are frequent users of the internet may have in-depth knowledge about the internet and may therefore not feel that it is important to discuss or ask questions about internet use with their sons or daughters. However, a result pointing in another direction is the relation between fathers’ perceptions of the internet as important for the teenager’s development and more insight into teenagers’ experiences with distressing material. One explanation might be that fathers’ perceptions of the internet being important are related to a greater interest in the internet in general and also to a greater engagement in teenagers’ use of the internet.

A limitation of the present study is that reports about parental rules, teenage disclosure, parental participation and parental trust came primarily from parents. It is possible that the results would have been different if the teenagers themselves had been asked to self-report about parental rules, their disclosures to parents, parental participation and parental trust. For example, in order for a parent to gain insight into the teenager’s feelings, it may be crucial that the teenager feels that the parent is engaged, interested and trustworthy. For this reason the teenagers’ perspectives on their parents’ trustworthiness, interest and engagement may have been more informative and something that should be taken into consideration when designing future research. It is valuable to investigate parental insight both from the perspective of the parent and the teenager. It is also important that future research continues to adhere to this double perspective. A double perspective means that both teenagers and parents are active agents in parent–child interactions. Both parents and teenagers adjust their behaviours in relation to one another and as a means of interpreting the values that are communicated and negotiated (Kuczynski et al., 1999).

Another limitation has to do with the fact that individuals might have divergent understandings as to the type of material that is ‘distressing’. Although teenagers were also asked whether they had come into contact with material that they themselves perceived as distressing, it would have been useful to also ask what they perceived as distressing. Since we did not ask whether they perceived pornography, violence or agitation material as distressing – or what they did perceive as distressing – conclusions regarding teenagers’ interpretation of the word distressing cannot be drawn. Indeed, qualitative data would have given us a greater depth of information and understanding about teenagers’ perceptions of things that are threatening and how they choose to share such experiences with their parents. However, the objectives for the present study focused on patterns, associations and predictions regarding teenagers’ internet use and experiences and parental insights. To be able to carry out these types of analyses, the empirical data have to be generated from large numbers of teenagers and parents. However, it is important to remember in future studies that, since this is an area that is relatively unexplored, it also needs to be studied qualitatively, for example with open-ended interviews.

Recently, parental mediation in relation to teenagers’ internet use has been discussed in terms of its effectiveness in reducing teenagers’ risk-taking related to the internet. The relationship between parental insight and safe teenage internet use is relatively unexplored. Even though previous findings indicate a positive correlation (Cho and Cheon, 2005), there is nevertheless a substantial gap of knowledge concerning the role of the parent. Taken as a whole, the diversity in this and other previous studies suggests that it is important to continue to investigate the relation between parental strategies such as discussions, conversations, rules and restrictions, as well as how these strategies vary in effectiveness in different cultural contexts. As indicated in other studies (but see Lansford et al., 2005) the effectiveness of different parental strategies varies in different cultures due to different cultural norms. To be able to guide parents in different settings, future studies have to illuminate the role of the parent and to do so in different cultural settings.

Footnotes

Funding

This research was supported by the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research [grant number 2006–0778].

Emma Sorbring (lead author), PhD and Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at University West, Sweden. Her research as well as teaching interest lies in the area of children, adolescents and families. Her projects are focused on: Teenagers’ internet use and parental strategies, Sexual development in traditional and new settings (internet), Dating violence, Parental behaviour and children’s adjustment and Young people’s decision-making.

Linda Lundin PhD and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at University West, Sweden. Her research and teaching interests concern children and adults facing various challenges during their upbringing, for example instability, traumas and crises. She is also interested in how these challenges can be manifested via for example eating disorders or social anxiety.

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