Effects of Parental Monitoring on Children’s Peer Relationship : Mediating Effects of Parent Attachment and Autonomy

The purpose of this study was to examine effect of parental monitoring on children’s peer relationship through parent attachment and autonomy. Data from 1,304 households participated in the 12th (2019) wave of the Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC) were analyzed. Regarding the gender of children, boys accounted for 50.9% (n = 664) and girls accounted for 49.1% (n = 640). The age of children was 11.4 years. A structural equation model was used to determine paths between variables. Bootstrapping was performed to verify significance of an indirect effect. Results were as follows. First, parental monitoring did not have a direct effect on children’s peer relationship. Second, in the relationship between parental monitoring and children’s peer relationship, parent attachment showed a mediating effect. However, autonomy showed no mediating effect. Third, regarding the relationship between parental monitoring and children’s peer relationship, parent attachment and autonomy showed sequential mediating effects. These results show that parent attachment and autonomy can positively influence children’s peer relationship. This finding underscores the necessity for intervention programs to improve parent-child relationship to enhance children’s social competence.