Parental monitoring and internalizing/externalizing problem behaviors in adolescents: Parental perception

This study investigates the relationship between parental monitoring and adolescent problem behaviors, using data collected directly from parents and based explicitly on parental reports. A correlational research design was employed to examine parental monitoring, its sources, and adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. The sample consisted of 183 parents whose children were between 12 and 17 years of age and attended middle or high school. Data were collected through the face-to-face administration of standardized measures. One-way MANOVA was conducted to examine group differences, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze relationships among the variables. The results indicated that mothers reported higher levels of monitoring than fathers and parents monitored their daughters more closely than their sons. Parents reported higher self-disclosure and internalizing problems for girls. Parental monitoring was positively associated with internalizing problems and negatively associated with externalizing problems. In addition, child self-disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control were found to be significant positive predictors of parental monitoring. The findings suggest that parental monitoring plays an important role in adolescents’ behavioral outcomes, potentially increasing internalizing problems while decreasing externalizing problems. These results provide important insights into understanding and preventing adolescent problem behaviors within the context of parental monitoring.