Parent-adolescent Communication Research Articles

Parent-adolescent Congruence and Discrepancy in Perceived Parental Emotion Socialization to Anger and Sadness: Using Response Surface Analysis to Examine the Links with Adolescent Depressive Symptoms.

Parents and adolescents often hold discrepant perceptions of parental emotion socialization, which reflect misunderstandings in parent-adolescent communication on emotions and have potential detrimental effects on mental health of adolescents. The present study investigated the associations between parent-adolescent congruence and discrepancy in parental emotion socialization perception to two specific negative emotions (anger and sadness) and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents. A total of 372 adolescents (48.4% female, Mage = 13.43, SDage = 0.49) and their parents (79.6% mother, Mage = 41.15, SDage = 5.46) participated in this study. Both parents and adolescents reported perceived parental emotion socialization to anger and sadness, and adolescents reported depressive symptoms. Data were analyzed using polynomial regression and response surface analyses. Both congruence and discrepancy in parent and adolescent's reports were associated with adolescent depressive symptoms. A higher level of adolescent depressive symptoms was associated with higher parent-adolescent congruence in supportive responses to anger, sadness, and nonsupportive responses to anger. A higher level of depressive symptoms was associated with inconsistent reporting of supportive responses to sadness and nonsupportive responses to anger (only when parents had a more positive view than adolescents). This study highlights the significance of evaluating parent-child communication process by assessing perceived emotion socialization from both parents and adolescents and analyzing the reporting congruence and discrepancy. It also suggests that enhancing effective communication regarding parental emotion socialization could be a promising target for adolescent mental health promotion programs.

Parent-adolescent communication about COVID-19 safety precautions in Nigeria: A qualitative research

Parents remain the primary source of health information for adolescents but their discussions regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) safety precautions have not been systematically explored. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the communication between parents and children regarding COVID-19 safety measures. In-depth interviews with 25 parents from different communities in Enugu State, Nigeria, were conducted. The study revealed that parents obtained information about the severity of the virus and the preventive measures from the media. Then, they persuaded their children, sometimes through threat or force and religious allegories, to comply with the preventive measures. The discussions about safety measures between parents and their children proved to be effective since the parents reported that their children obeyed the rules following their communications. Parent-adolescent communication about COVID-19 also instilled the concept of practicing basic hygiene routines into the adolescents. The implications of the parent-adolescent communication for policy and research are discussed.

Relationship between positive parenting and adolescents' depressive symptoms: Evidence from a Chinese research survey.

Adolescents often carry their depression well into their adulthood. This creates perpetual difficulties for their family and society. Research on the relationship between positive parenting and adolescent depressive symptoms is rare. The protective effect of positive parenting on adolescent depressive symptoms also remains underexplored. Parents are a vital source of feedback that shapes adolescents' self-view in crucial ways. This study examines the latent relationships between four factors related to positive parenting and adolescent depressive symptoms. Using data from the Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS), Stata MP 17.0 was used for preliminary data processing and descriptive statistics. The structural equation model (SEM) was adopted to test the seven proposed hypotheses. The study participants were 2,816 adolescents (52.34% male). The SEM showed that positive communication and parental praise can directly reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents (path coefficients of -0.24 and -0.13 [p < .001], respectively). Additionally, both positive communication and positive parent-adolescent interactions can reduce adolescents' depressive symptoms by heightening the intermediate factor of parental praise (path coefficients of 0.30 and 0.44 [p < .001], respectively). Conversely, positive parent-adolescent interactions did not negatively affect adolescents' depressive symptoms, as we hypothesized. High level of positive parenting negatively predicts the level of depressive symptoms among adolescents. Specifically, positive communication, positive parent-adolescent communication, and parental praise are the main protective factors related to positive parenting for adolescents' depressive symptoms.

Parenting in 2 Worlds: Testing improved parent-adolescent communication about sexuality in Urban American Indian families.

Urban American Indian (AI) adolescents are more likely than non-Natives to have early sexual debut, teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and inadequate sexual health information. A RCT in three Arizona cities, with 585 parents of urban AI adolescents, tested whether a culturally tailored parenting intervention for urban AI families, Parenting in 2 Worlds (P2W), increased parent-adolescent communication about sexuality, compared to an informational family health intervention that was not culturally tailored. P2W produced significantly larger increases on two measures: communication about general sexual health and about sexual decision-making. The desired effects of P2W on the first measure were stronger short-term for cross-gender dyads, while for the second measure, they were stronger long-term for both mothers and fathers of adolescent sons.

Online Delinquent Behaviors of Adolescents: Parents as Potential "Influencers"?

In this study we examined whether aspects of parental monitoring of adolescents' online behavior (rules regarding time spent on the internet, rules regarding content of internet use, frequency of communication, and quality of communication about internet use) are related to different kinds of online delinquent behaviors (sexting, spreading viruses, DDoS attacking, hacking, and online threatening) and whether the level of adolescents' problematic (addictive) internet use mediates these relations. In regular Dutch high schools 1,009 adolescents filled out an online questionnaire (with adjusted versions of the ISPP, PIUQ, and the Dutch Youth Crime Monitor). Descriptive statistics showed that, in general, parents do not seem to monitor adolescents' online behavior to a great extent. Furthermore, results of logistic regression analyses and mediation tests showed that fewer rules about online time, more rules about online content, and a good quality of parent-adolescent communication about online behavior are all associated with lower problematic internet use, which in turn is associated with lower odds of several online delinquent behaviors (mediation). Moreover, parental handling of rules about online content is also directly associated with lower odds of spreading viruses, hacking, and online threat.

Situational context of home-based sexual education in urban slums of Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract Background Little is known about how events in slum settings interfere with informal sexual education in Nigeria. This study explores the influence of situational context on parent-adolescent communication about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues in the urban slums of Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in the Southeast and Northeast local government areas of Ibadan. Eight (8) vignette-based focus group discussions (FGDs) with parents and adolescents of both sexes were conducted in addition to four (4) key informant interviews (KIIs) with community and women's leaders. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Descriptive and interpretative analyses were conducted with the aid of ATLAS Ti 9 software. Results Findings portray SRH meanings and experiences, intergenerational cultural norms, and expectations for SRH, gender double standards in SRH discussion, streetwise SRH knowledge, and social media exposure to SRH as contexts that interfere with parent-adolescent communication on SRH issues. The findings show that although parents and teenagers understood SRH issues and their consequences, there was no effective communication about them. Also, the conversation between parents and adolescents promotes gender inequalities as different SRH information is passed to adolescent girls and boys. Streetwise SRH knowledge was identified to impede effective parent-adolescent conversation on SRH issues. Social media exposure had a significant impact on where teenagers got their unfiltered SRH knowledge, interfering with and distorting SRH discussion between parents and adolescents. Conclusions Interventions that enable parents to give and allow their children early access to appropriate SRH knowledge, considering their context, are urgently needed. Key messages • The study emphasizes the need for tailored sexual education programs that are culturally sensitive, age-appropriate, and accessible to parents and children in urban slums. • The study highlights the absence of formal sexual education in schools and communities in urban slums of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Impact of preparing nursing students to deliver a parent-based sexual health intervention on attitudes and intentions for sexual health education and parent communication counseling: a mixed methods study

BackgroundNurses are well positioned to promote sexual health but are not adequately prepared in their nursing programs to engage families on this topic and often lack the knowledge and confidence necessary to counsel families about sexual health communication. The purpose of this study was to determine how facilitating a parent-based sexual health intervention would impact nursing students’ attitudes and intentions about sexual health education and parent communication counseling.MethodsUsing an embedded mixed-methods design, which integrated a quasi-experimental framework, we examined the impact of participation in a parent-based sexual health intervention among 126 baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in a community/public health nursing clinical course. Independent t-tests, chi-squared tests, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare intervention and control groups at baseline. Multiple linear regression was used to compare the groups for pre-post changes. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze exit interview transcripts.ResultsWe found statistically significant differences in nursing students’ confidence to teach sexual health (p = < 0.001), satisfaction with skills as a sexual health educator (p = < 0.001), beliefs about the efficacy of parent-adolescent communication for reducing negative sexual outcomes among adolescents (p = < 0.001), and intentions to counsel parents on sexual health (p = < 0.001), with greater improvements in the intervention group than in the control group. Furthermore, we found statistically significant differences in nursing students’ intentions to counsel parents about the HPV vaccine (p = < 0.01) and to endorse the HPV vaccine (p = < 0.05), with greater improvements in the intervention group than in the control group. Across all survey categories, qualitative findings confirmed improvements seen on the pre-post survey.ConclusionProviding evidence-based adolescent sexual health training, including sexual health education content and discussion strategies, can prepare nursing students to strongly endorse sexual health communication and HPV vaccination uptake and to counsel parents on initiating and navigating these conversations with their youth. Our project exemplifies how a nursing program could organize an immersive experience, or elective within a specialty area, that aligns with the competency-based approach endorsed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.Trial registrationThis study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02600884) on 09/01/2015; the first participant was recruited on 09/29/2015.

Parent-adolescent communication about sexual and reproductive health and its determinants among adolescents: Baseline findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Tanzania

Regardless of the importance of youth in socio-economic development around the globe, adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years face problems ranging from their basic to Sexual and Reproductive Health economic needs (SRH). This study determined baseline parent-adolescent communication about SRH from a randomized controlled trial of integrated reproductive health materials in a Problem-Based Pedagogy (PBP) for shaping safe sexual behavior among adolescents in Tanzania. The study employed a baseline cross-section survey from a randomized controlled trial of integrated reproductive health materials in a problem-based learning pedagogy for shaping safe sexual behavior among 647 randomly selected adolescents in Tanzanian ordinary-level secondary schools. The response rate of the study was 100% of which 57.5% were females. Totalities of 73.3% of adolescents reported having never communicated with their parents about SRH. Parent-adolescent communication about SRH matters was found to be low and thus, recommends collaborative parent-adolescent interventions to address it accordingly.

ADOLESCENT-PARENT COMMUNICATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS OF TOKHA MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL : A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: As compared to other age groups, adolescents are more vulnerable to sexual and reproductive health issues. Parents can become protective and influencing factors for their children to prevent risky sexual behavior. Purpose: This study aimed to assess adolescent-parent communication on sexual and reproductive health and its associated factors. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study among 212 adolescents aged 15–19 in higher secondary schools of Tokha Municipality. A self-administered structured modified questionnaire to assess the communication used the Weighted Topics Measure of Family Sexual Communication tool with a simple random sampling technique. Descriptive statistical analysis and chi-square tests were used to analyze data and assess the association between variables. Data quality was assured through careful questionnaire design, pretesting, and training. Results: The study found that 75.9% of adolescents had communicated on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) topics with their parents, 24.1% never communicated, 47.2% seldom communicated on SRH topics, followed by sometimes (23.6%) and often (5.2%), respectively. Adolescent-parent communication on SRH was significantly associated with the level of knowledge regarding sexual and reproductive health (ꭓ2 = 5.809, p-value = 0.01, df = 1). Similarly, there was a significant association with the perceived parenting style (ꭓ2 =3.932, p-value =0.04, df =1), living arrangements (ꭓ2 =6.376, p-value=0.01, df =1), and adolescent-parent communication. Conclusion: It concluded that adolescent-parent communication on SRH issues is not satisfactory. Creating an adolescent-friendly environment at home and conducting awareness programs with the help of the local government of the respective schools would help to increase adolescent-parent communication.

A systematic review of effective parent-adolescent sexual and reproductive health information communication in lower- and middle-income countries

Background: Parents play an important role in the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of their adolescents. Parent–adolescent SRH information communication is cardinal and is expected to improve SRH outcomes of adolescents.Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to search for effective SRH information communication interventions in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to inform the adaptation of parent–adolescent SRH information communication intervention.Method: This is the first phase of an explanatory sequential mixed method study. The systematic review was carried out by employing Joanna Briggs Institute software for reviews. Search sources included Cochrane Reviews Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, PubMed, OVID, Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct. A systematic search strategy was formulated, making use of the key terms: adolescent, teenager, youth, parent, mother, father, caregiver, reproductive, sexual, health, information, communication and intervention.Results: Five articles met the inclusion criteria for full-text screening. The interventions included addressed sociodemographic covariates; parent–adolescent general communication; parental monitoring; parent–adolescent communication about sex-related topics; parent’s sexual communication skills; parent’s self-efficacy in sexual communication; parent’s responsiveness to sexual communication; communication frequency; quality of sex‑related communication and information-motivational-behavioural skills.Conclusion: Findings suggest that evidence-based SRH information communication interventions are effective in improving parent–adolescent SRH information communication to optimise safe SRH behaviour in LMICs.Contribution: This systematic review identified effective SRH information communication interventions in LMICs, which can form the basis of further qualitative exploration for adaptation of a culturally sensitive intervention in Ghana.

Family functioning, well-being, and mental health among new immigrant families.

The present study was conducted to identify latent profiles of adolescent-reported and parent-reported family functioning, as well as their links with adolescent and parent well-being and mental health, among recent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union to Israel. A sample of 160 parent-adolescent dyads completed measures of parent-adolescent communication, parental involvement, positive parenting, family conflict, self-esteem, optimism, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. Results indicated four latent profiles-Low Family Functioning, Moderate Family Functioning, High Family Functioning, and High Parent/Low Adolescent Family Functioning (i.e., discrepant reports of family functioning). Adolescent depressive symptoms and anxiety were highest in the discrepant profile and lowest in the High Family Function profile; adolescent self-esteem and optimism were highest in the High Family Function profile and lowest in the Low Family Function profile; and parent depressive symptoms and anxiety were highest in the Low Family Function profile and lowest in the High Family Function profile. Parent self-esteem and optimism did not differ significantly across profiles. These results are discussed in terms of cultural and developmental contexts of adolescence and parenting within immigrant families, in terms of family systems theory, and in terms of the need for clinical services among families with discrepant reports of family functioning between parents and adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Testing the acceptability and feasibility of video observational methodology to measure parent-adolescent communication and interaction

BackgroundExisting research has shown that the parent-adolescent relationship and its associated communication and interaction styles are important for adolescent development and outcomes. Measuring parent-adolescent communication and interaction using self-report methods has substantial research limitations. Video observational methodologies offer a novel and more objective approach to measuring parent-adolescent communication and interaction from the point of view of participants. This study aims to explore the feasibility and acceptability of this methodology, and analysis using automated coding software in an urbanized context.MethodsThis study recruited parent-adolescent pairs in Soweto, South Africa which included 11–15-year-old adolescents and their biological parents. Parent-adolescent communication and interactions were measured using novel video observational portable head cameras called “Teencams”. Feasibility was evaluated by testing three observational game tasks (Matching pairs card game, Jenga and Charades) to stimulate communication and interaction between 16 parent-adolescent pairs, and the Teencam's ability to record video and audio content. Acceptability was explored using one-on-one interviews with the parents (n = 14), on whether they found the Teencam comfortable to wear, whether the parents believed their adolescents acted naturally, and which observational game tasks were feasible during their interactions. The videos were analysed using automated coding software called FaceReader which detects and codes basic facial expressions.ResultsThe Teencam methodology was found to be feasible and acceptable amongst parent-adolescent pairs in Soweto, South Africa. The Matching pairs card game stimulated excellent interaction and communication with good video and audio quality. Some feasibility limitations were identified in the operations (switching on/off and starting recording), the ability of the device to cope with the movement of the participants, and the lighting conditions of the room, all of which resulted in poor coding and analytic output from FaceReader. Refinements and adjustments were made to the methodological protocol by improving the head cameras and lighting conditions and refining the Matching pairs card game, which resulted in improved analytic output from FaceReader.ConclusionBased on these findings, a methodological protocol was developed to measure parent-adolescent interaction and communication in an urban setting. The unique contribution of this research lies in its potential to lead to improved methodologies for measuring parent-adolescent communication and interactions.

Increasing mothers' reproductive health knowledge and attitudes through education on youth internet-based social interaction

Adolescents have the highest rate of internet usage compared to those of different ages. Dissertation media, societal changes, and insufficient parental involvement support the development of promiscuity in adolescents. Parents, especially mothers, have a strong role in controlling the behavior of adolescents. Therefore, mothers need to have good knowledge and attitudes related to youth internet-based social interaction. The goal of this study is to assess changes in mothers' attitudes and knowledge because of education regarding how young people engage online and how that affects their reproductive health. Forms of adolescent sexual behavior, pornography, adolescent self-concept, cyberbullying, and parent-adolescent communication are among the knowledge and attitude topics that are evaluated. In this study, a one-group, quasi-experimental pretest-posttest approach was adopted. The research sample consists of 21 participants that were chosen using purposive sampling. A paired t-test was utilized to assess the questionnaire data. In the pre- and post-test, the respondents’ average knowledge score rose from 95.23 to 97.14. P value of 0.428 (95% CI: 3.00–6.61). Respondents’ attitude score rose from 77.85 to 85.95 (95% CI: 1.56–14.63). These results indicated differences in the respondents’ attitudes before and after training but not in their knowledge, although both of them experienced an increase in average scores. Youth internet-based social interaction for mothers can improve mothers’ attitudes and knowledge. To avoid juvenile delinquency, a health program that involves parental involvement in disseminating information about reproductive health in connection to teenage social interaction is necessary.

The Relationship Between Family Communication Quality and the Career Maturity of Adolescents: The Role of Time Perspective.

Family communication quality is an influential factor of career maturity; however, very few studies have investigated the internal mechanisms underlying the relation between family communication quality and career maturity. This study investigated the mediating effect of time perspective on this relation, explored adolescents' time perspective profiles, and examined the relationships among family communication quality, career maturity, and time perspective profiles. In this one-year interval longitudinal study, adolescents (67.19% girls; aged 16.10-24.09 years; n = 442) reported parent-adolescent communication quality and time perspective at Time 1 and career maturity at Time 2. The results showed that family communication quality positively predicted adolescents' career maturity, and this relation was mediated by adolescents' Present Fatalistic and Future time perspectives. Additionally, this study identified four time perspective profiles: balanced, moderate, negative, and risk-taking. We further examined how these time perspective profiles are associated with family communication quality and career maturity. The results showed that adolescents' perceptions of high-quality communication with their parents promoted them to endorse a balanced time perspective profile and protected them from endorsing a negative time perspective profile. Moreover, adolescents with a balanced time perspective profile exhibited better development in terms of career maturity, whereas those with a negative time perspective profile reported poor development in terms of career maturity. Present Fatalistic and Future time perspectives mediated the association between parent-adolescent communication quality and career maturity. Additionally, adolescents who engaged in high-quality communication with parents were more likely to endorse the balanced time perspective profile and less likely to adopt the negative time perspective profile; these adolescents were also more likely to achieve higher levels of career maturity. These findings highlight the necessity of improving parent-adolescent communication quality and guiding adolescents to establish a balanced time perspective profile with the goal of promoting adolescents' career maturity.

Parental knowledge and communication with their adolescent on sexual and reproductive health issues in Nepal.

Parental knowledge about sexual and reproductive health issues and adequate communication with their adolescent on these issues are crucial in promoting adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Although there are evidence on adolescent perceptions of their sexual health issues, research on parental perspectives of adolescent sexual health and parent-adolescent communication about sexual health issues in Nepal remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to assess parental knowledge and communication practice about sexual and reproductive health with their adolescent children in Lalitpur Metropolitan City of Nepal. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2019 among randomly selected 308 parents of adolescents (aged 10-19 years) residing in Lalitpur Metropolitan City of Nepal. Face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires were conducted to collect the data. The collected data were entered into EpiData software v3.1, and data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows Version 21.0 (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA). The statistical significance was considered at a p-value <0.05 and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Of 308 parents, one-third of parents were found to have correct knowledge about safe abortion, menstrual hygiene and management, modern contraceptives, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, wet dreams among male adolescents, abstaining from sexual intercourse during the fertile period, and the possibility of a male adolescent to impregnate a girl. In addition, only 40.9% of parents were found to have communicated with their adolescent children about sexual and reproductive health issues. Parents who have knowledge about puberty (aOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2-3.9), belong to Bharamin/Chhetri ethnic group (aOR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.1-2.2), self-employed (aOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.3-4.0), having two or more adolescent children (aOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.6), and whose adolescent children were staying in school hostel (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI:1.0-3.0) were more likely to have parental communication about sexual and reproductive health with their adolescent children. Most parents do not communicate with their adolescent children on sexual health topics, although they feel sexual health education is essential to adolescents. The majority of parents were found inadequately aware of adolescent sexual health issues. It is crucial to have contextual interventions that would encourage parent-adolescent communication on sexual health matters in an integrated way to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

How general functioning of family affects gambling-related beliefs: the mediating role of communication and the moderating role of impulsivity trait.

Gambling behaviors can be exhibited by individuals raised in families with impaired parent-child communication and individuals with more impulsive traits. However, it remains unclear how gambling-related beliefs are modulated by impulsivity traits and parent-child communication styles. A total of 95 adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) diagnosed via DSM-5 criteria with gambling disorder (GD) completed our questionnaire. Participants filled out pen-and-paper questionnaires that included basic demographic information, the Family Assessment Device (FAD), Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (PACS), Gambling Attitude and Belief Survey (GABS), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). We used a moderation mediation model to explore the relationship between variables. The study results were considered statistically significant if p < 0.05, or the 95% confidence interval did not contain zero. The scores of the problems in communication with mother subscale (PCMS) of PACS were significantly positively correlated with the scores of GABS and the general functioning 12-item subscale (GF12) of FAD. The relationship between the scores of GF12 and GABS was completely mediated [β = 4.83, (1.12, 10.02)] by PCMS scores, and the BIS scores moderated this relationship: the predictive path between GF12 and PCMS scores [index of moderated was β = -0.25, (-0.60, -0.04)], and the indirect predictive front path between the scores of GF12 and GABS were significant only in subjects with low BIS scores. These findings suggest that poor general functioning of the family may increase gambling-related beliefs as a result of communication problems with mothers, and this result is only significant for individuals with low impulsivity. When treating patients with GD, more treatment of mother-child communication issues and individual impulsivity may be more conducive to their recovery.

Efficacy of DigiKnowItNews: Teen, a multimedia educational website for adolescents about pediatric clinical trials: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundPediatric research is crucial for the development of new scientific advancements, treatments, and therapies for adolescents. Yet relatively few pediatric clinical trials are conducted due to barriers to successful recruitment and retention, including knowledge and attitudes about clinical trials. Adolescents tend to experience greater autonomy to make decisions and have expressed interest in being part of the decision to participate in clinical trials. Increasing knowledge, positive attitudes, and self-efficacy related to clinical trials could positively impact the decision to participate in a pediatric clinical trial. However, there are currently few interactive, developmentally appropriate, web-based resources available to educate adolescents about clinical trials. DigiKnowItNews: Teen was created as a multimedia educational website to address the relatively low levels of enrollment in pediatric clinical trials and need for information to empower adolescents to make decisions about participating in clinical trials.MethodsThis is a parallel group randomized controlled superiority trial to test the effectiveness of DigiKnowItNews: Teen, for improving factors related to clinical trial participation among adolescent and parents. Eligible parent-adolescent (ages 12 to 17 years) pairs will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: intervention or wait-list control. All participants will complete pre- and post-test questionnaires and participants assigned to the intervention will receive access to review the DigiKnowItNews: Teen content for 1 week. Wait-list control participants will have the option to review DigiKnowItNews: Teen after study completion. The primary outcomes are knowledge about clinical research, attitudes, and beliefs toward pediatric clinical trials, self-efficacy for making decisions related to clinical trial participation, willingness to participate in a future clinical trial, procedural fears, and parent-adolescent communication quality. Overall feedback and satisfaction related to DigiKnowItNews: Teen will also be collected.DiscussionThe trial will evaluate the effectiveness of DigiKnowIt News: Teen, an educational website about pediatric clinical trials for adolescents. If found effective in promoting factors related to future pediatric clinical trial participation, DigiKnowIt News: Teen could be used by adolescents, along with their parents, as they make the decision to participate in a clinical trial. Clinical trial researchers can also use DigiKnowIt News: Teen to aid their participant recruitment efforts.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05714943. Registered on 02/03/2023.

Relationship between parent-adolescent communication and parent involvement in adolescent Type 1 diabetes management, parent/family wellbeing and glycaemic control.

This study investigated the relationship between parent-reported degree of openness and extent of problems in parent-adolescent communication and parent involvement in adolescent Type 1 diabetes management, parent and family wellbeing and adolescent glycaemic control. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted. Parents completed measures of parent-adolescent communication, parent monitoring of diabetes care, diabetes family responsibility, parent knowledge of diabetes care, parent activation, parent diabetes distress, and diabetes family conflict. In total, 146 parents/guardians (121 mothers, mean age 46.56 years, SD 5.18) of adolescents aged 11-17 years (mean age 13.9 years, SD 1.81) with Type 1 diabetes completed the survey. Open parent-adolescent communication was significantly correlated to adolescents' voluntarily disclosing diabetes-specific information to their parents more frequently, increased parental knowledge of their adolescent's diabetes care completion, parents feeling more capable and willing to take action in relation to their adolescent's diabetes health, lower levels of diabetes-related parental distress, less diabetes-specific family conflict, and optimal glycaemic control. Parent-adolescent communication has an important role to play in Type 1 diabetes healthcare management and psychosocial wellbeing during adolescence. Optimising open parent-adolescent communication represents a potentially useful target for interventional research and should be considered by healthcare professionals during healthcare encounters.

The Impact of Parent-Adolescent Communication on Reduction of Sexual Risk Possibility Among Adolescents: Findings from the Suubi-Maka Study.

Sexual risky behaviors among adolescents and young people remain a major public health problem worldwide. This study examined the impact of parent-adolescent communication on adolescents' possibility to engage in risky behaviors. The study used baseline data from the Suubi-Maka Study (2008-2012) implemented in 10 primary schools in Southern Uganda. Binary logistic regression models were conducted to determine the association between parent-adolescent communication and sexual risk possibility. Results indicate that gender [OR 0.220, 95% CI 0.107, 0.455], age [OR 1.891, 95% CI 1.030, 3.471], household size [OR 0.661, 95% CI 0.479, 0.913], and comfort level of family communication [OR 0.944, 95% CI 0.899, 0.990] were significantly associated with lower levels of sexual risk possibility among adolescents. There is a need to build interventions that make it easy and comfortable for adolescents to have open discussion and communication with parents on sexual risk possibility, risky behaviors, and risky situations.

Social Media Use and Early Adolescents’ Academic Achievement: Variations by Parent-Adolescent Communication and Gender

Research investigating social media use typically focus on late adolescents and young adults, despite a growing number of early adolescents, 93% to 97%—having at least one social media platform. Also, early adolescents are more likely to engage with newer sites, such as Snapchat and Instagram, than older platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Given the evolving landscape of social media, the present study examines the impact of the use of various social media platforms, along with its moderating effects, on adolescents’ academic achievement, using a sample of N = 1,459 early adolescents. Results were such that, as frequency of use on each platform: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat increased, academic achievement decreased. Specific to interaction effects, frequent use of Facebook and Instagram and early adolescents’ academic achievement were moderated by motheradolescent communication; while gender moderated the association between frequent use of Twitter and Snapchat and early adolescents’ academic achievement. Implications are discussed.