Restrictive Media Parenting Associated With Reduced Cyberbullying in Early Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study

Transitioning to adolescence in the digital age creates both opportunities and challenges for early adolescents, who are at risk for cyberbullying. Parents and youths report perceived incompetence in dealing with cyberbullying; however, most past studies reflect mixed findings on cross-sectional relationships between restrictive media parenting and adolescent cyberbullying. The current study aims to explore longitudinal connections between restrictive media parenting and cyberbullying attitudes and behaviors in early adolescents during the pandemic. Youth reports of perceived restrictive media parenting, cyberbullying attitudes, and cyberbullying behaviors were extracted from a three-wave sample collected through an online longitudinal survey from 2019 to 2021 across the US ( N = 288, M age = 11.81, 50.2% girls). Structural equation modeling path analysis showed that T1 cyberbullying predicted more T2 perceived restrictive media parenting, which then predicted less T3 cyberbullying. Parents utilize restrictive media parenting strategies in response to existing youth cyberbullying behaviors, predicting reduced cyberbullying in the future.