Bo Wang, Bonita Stanton, Xiaoming Li, Lynette Deveaux, Veronica Koci Prevention Research Center

1. The influence of parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication on Bahamian adolescent risk involvement: A three-year longitudinal examination Bo Wang, Bonita Stanton, Xiaoming Li, Lynette Deveaux, Veronica Koci Prevention Research Center Wayne State University School of Medicine

2. Collaborators and Funding Support • Funding: This project is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH069229). • Principal investigator: Bonita Stanton at Wayne State University School of Medicine. • Collaboration institutes: the Bahamas Ministries of Health and Education

3. Background • Numerous studies have documented the consistent link between higher levels of parental monitoring and lower levels of problem behaviors. • The association between parental monitoring and problem behavior has been brought into question. • Several studies have observed that the measures of parental monitoring commonly used in the literature assess parents’ knowledge about their adolescent’s activities rather than active monitoring efforts by parents. • These studies suggest that parental monitoring can best be conceptualized and measured through the domains of parental knowledge, youth disclosure, parental solicitation and parental control.

4. Background • Several studies have consistently found that youth disclosure is an important predictor of delinquent behavior (Keijsers et al., 2010; Kerr et al., 2010). • By contrast, findings regarding effects of parental solicitation and control on adolescent risk behavior are mixed (Laird et al., 2010). • Few studies addressed the facilitating role of the parent-youth communication in effective monitoring and most focused on delinquent behavior without substance use and sexual risk behaviors. • A majority of the existing studies focusing on parental monitoring have been cross-sectional and thus lack the perspective afforded through a longitudinal study

5. Objective • This study uses four waves of data from a three-year longitudinal study to continue the investigation of the components of “parental monitoring” and parent-youth communication. • We first examine the association of parental knowledge, youth disclosure, parental solicitation and control with risk involvement through early to middle adolescence, before and after controlling for parent-youth communication. • We then examine longitudinal relationships between the four components of “parental monitoring” in early adolescence, parent-adolescent open and problem communication, and adolescent risk involvement in middle adolescence.

6. Methods • Study site: • The island of New Providence, the Bahamas. It houses 65% of the entire population and 86% of HIV infected individuals. • Participants: • 913 grade-six students from 10 government elementary schools in New Providence. • The mean age of youth at baseline was 10.4 years (range 10 to14 years) and 55.8% were females. Ninety-nine percent of youth are of African descent. • The follow-up rate was 89% at 12 months, 86% at 24 months, and 83% at 36 months of post-intervention.

7. Measures • Delinquency, substance use and sexual risk behaviors. Youth’s involvement in problem behaviors was assessed using the Bahamian Youth Health Risk Behavioral Inventory.A composite score was computed for adolescent delinquency (ranging 0-4), substance use (0-5), andsexual risk (0-4). • Parent-youth communications. It was measured by the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale. • Open communication. 10 items measure the degree of openness in parent-youth communication. • problem communication. 10 items measure the extent of problems in parent-youth communication.

8. Measures • Parental knowledge, youth disclosure, parental solicitation and parental control. A validated eight-item parental monitoring scale was employed to assess parental knowledge and monitoring activities. The seven items were assigned to four domains (one item deleted) • Parental knowledge (2 items). “My parents/guardian know where I am after school.” • Youth disclosure (3 items). “I tell my parents/guardian whom I’m going to be with before I go out.” • Parental solicitation (1 item). “when I go out, my parents/guardian ask me where I’m going.” • Parental control (1 items). “when I go out, my parents/ guardian tell me what time I’m going to return.”

9. Analysis • Mixed-effects model. Given the hierarchical nature of our data (students clustered within classes in 10 schools), mixed effects regression analysis was conducted to identify predictive factors for delinquency, substance use and sexual risk behaviors. • Path analysiswas conducted on longitudinal data to investigate long-term effects of parental knowledge, youth disclosure, parental solicitation and control in early adolescence (grade six/seven) on adolescent risk involvement in middle adolescence (grade nine).

10. Results

15. Summary of results • Results from mixed-effects models showed that parental knowledge, youth disclosure, and parental control were negatively associated with both delinquency and substance use; parent-adolescent open and problem communication (rather than parental knowledge, youth disclosure, parental solicitation or parental control) were associated with sexual risk behaviors. • Results from path models further indicated that youth disclosure was a significant longitudinal predictor of reduced adolescent delinquency whereas parental control during early adolescence predicted reduced substance use in middle adolescence.

16. Conclusion • Parental knowledge, youth disclosure and parental control differ in their impacts on substance use, delinquency and sexual risk behaviors. • Parent-adolescent problem communication has consistent influence on all three types of adolescent risk behaviors. • Future parental monitoring interventions should focus on enhancing parents’ interpersonal communication skills and emphasize the differences and importance of the unique components of parental monitoring

17. Limitations • Adolescent problem behaviors relied on self-report. It is possible that adolescents misreported or underreported their risk behaviors (self-reporting bias). • The measures of parental knowledge, youth disclosure, parental solicitation and control were extracted from a previous commonly used construct of “parental monitoring”. • Although these measures are not as comprehensive as the measures used in several recent studies, the items used in the present study are identical to some items used by Kerr et al. (2010) and are considered as core items of the constructs.

18. Thank you!