Parental Monitoring of the Internet Activity of Young Children and Preadolescents

Abstract

Th is study explores the infl uence 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 benefi ts, and (iii) family closeness. Th e sample consisted of 161 parents (20 fathers and 141 mothers) of children aged 7-12. Results show that family closeness is the most signifi cant predictor for parental monitoring. Th e second signifi cant 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.