Parental Monitoring of the Internet Activity of Young Children and Preadolescents
Andrzej KołodziejThe New Educational Review
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Abstract
This study explores the influence of three psychological factors of the parental monitoring of children’s Internet activity: (i) parents’ perception of the Internet as a source of threat and risk, (ii) parents’ perception of the Internet as a source of benefits, and (iii) family closeness. The sample consisted of 161 parents (20 fathers and 141 mothers) of children aged 7 - 12. Results show that family closeness is the most significant predictor for parental monitoring. The second significant predictor is parents’ perception of the Internet as a source of threat or risk. As expected, the predictors for parental monitoring of children’s Internet activity depend on children’s age.
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* We would like thank Ramon Rodriguez and his staff at the Ministry of Education for providing the data and technical assistance necessary to conduct this study. We are especially grateful to Jaime Bellolio who collaborated with us on an evaluation of the "Yo Elijo mi PC" program that is the setting of the present study.
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