What do parents do? Towards conceptual clarity in the study of parental influence on adolescent developmental and behavioural outcomes

Abstract

This conceptual paper utilises Situational Action Theory, the adolescence and parenting literatures, and a parental monitoring and crime use-case, to emphasise two separate but inter-related and co-existing distinctions i) between parenting behaviours that guide and control (behaviour distinction), and ii) between parenting behaviours that influence developmental and behavioural outcomes (goal distinction); and intersect these distinctions to identify four kinds of parental influence. The specificity of distinctions and their intersection are rarely made explicit in parenting research, resulting in concepts, design, analysis, and conclusions which conflate various parenting features and processes. This paper goes right back to basics and contributes to clarity in the conceptual foundations of parental influence on adolescent development and behaviour. By facilitating conceptual clarity and detailed specification of mechanisms, this paper under-labours to support the future development of better models of parental influence. In turn, this can underpin strong empirical research into the causes of adolescent behaviour that has the most utility for effective policy.