NCJ Number
227990
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 8 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 1123-1139
Date Published
September 2009
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study explored the kinds of communication via cell phone for parent and adolescent initiated cell phone communications to one another, focusing on parental monitoring and support and on parents' and adolescents' perceptions of each.
Abstract
Findings revealed that parents who called more frequently reported less truthfulness when speaking to their adolescents via cell phone, and parental calls when upset or angry were associated with less parental knowledge and poorer family relations. The same finding held for adolescents; however, adolescents who made calls seeking social support and to ask and confer with parents reported greater perceived parental knowledge and better family relationships. The general pattern of results indicates that parental knowledge and adolescent truthfulness may be maximized when the adolescent initiates the calls, and may be minimized when the parent initiates the calls. Parents who call their adolescents often tended to report greater disharmony in the family relationships and yielded poorer results in terms of adolescents' truthfulness. Data were collected through a paper-and-pencil questionnaire about family relationships and cell phone use through solicitation of parents and their high school aged adolescents. One hundred ninety-six parents and adolescents completed the study. Tables, appendix, and references