Parental Knowledge and Youth Risky Behavior: A Person Oriented Approach

• NCJ Number: 244620
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 42 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2013 Pages: 1732-1744
• Author(s): Melissa A. Lippold; Mark T. Greenberg; Linda M. Collins
• Date Published: November 2013
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA013709; F31-DA028047; P50 DA10075
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study explored the relationship between subgroups of mother-youth dyads that use specific combinations of parental knowledge-related behaviors and youth risky behavior.

Abstract

Most studies isolate the effects of one knowledge-related behavior on youth outcomes. This study explores the relationship between subgroups of mother-youth dyads that use specific combinations of parental knowledge-related behaviors and youth risky behavior. Using a sample of 796 rural sixth graders (53 percent female), the authors assessed mother and youth reports of maternal knowledge, active parent monitoring efforts, youth disclosure, parental supervision, and the amount of parent-youth communication to identify five knowledge latent classes: High-Monitors, Maternal Over-Estimators, Low-Monitors, Communication-Focused, and Supervision-Focused. Delinquency, antisocial peers, and substance use were associated with increased odds of membership in the Supervision-Focused class, relative to the High Monitors. Membership in the Low Monitors and Maternal Over-Estimators classes was associated with unhealthy attitudes towards substances and for Low Monitors, substance use. The discussion focuses on the value of using a person-oriented approach to understand parental knowledge and risky behavior during early adolescence and intervention implications. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.