Control Parental del Uso de Internet durante la Adolescencia: Evolución y Diferencias de Género

Abstract

Objectives: To design and validate a questionnaire intended for assessing parental control of Internet-usage by adolescents; 2) To determine to what extent parents use the types of parental control analysed, according to the adolescents; 3) To examine possible differences based on adolescents'age: And 4) To analyse possible differences between boys and girls. Method: 790 adolescents (12 to 18 years) completed the Parental Control of Internet Use by Adolescents Questionnaire, which has been designed and tested in the present study. Results: The questionnaire measures two types of parental control (restriction and monitoring), and offers adequate statistical guarantees of reliability and validity. Adolescents tend to report low Internet restrictions and monitoring levels from their parents. Both parental restrictions and monitoring become progressively less frequent as sons and daughters grow. Girls report more Internet restrictions and monitoring from their parents than boys. Discussion: Theoretical and practical implications from these findings are discussed.