Parents Report Both Benefits, Concerns With Youth Internet Use

TUESDAY, Oct. 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Problematic internet use among youth correlates with negative parenting styles and parent internet use, according to a study published online Oct. 26 in JAMA Network Open.

Harry Graff Kimball, from the Child Mind Institute in New York City, and colleagues characterized parental perceptions and concerns about internet use associated with adolescent development, well-being, safety, family connectedness, and potential for problematic internet use. The analysis included responses from 1,005 parents participating in a survey.

The researchers found that respondents endorsed parental concerns of exposure to harmful content (64.3 percent) and online bullying (53.0 percent). More than one-fifth of parents (22.4 percent) had specific concerns about internet addiction in their adolescent offspring, with twice as many parents having specific concerns about internet addiction than substance addiction. In contrast, parents also believed that internet use improved family connectedness among immediate families (46.6 percent) and extended families (56.5 percent). There was a correlation seen between Internet Addiction Test scores in adolescent offspring and parent scores (β = 0.62) and Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-Inconsistent Discipline scores (β = 0.23).

“These findings suggest that family discussions of internet use should acknowledge both perceived benefits and concerns, while correlates of problematic internet use identified in this study may inform interventions,” the authors write.

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