Parental Rules Research Articles

Socioecological Predictors of Change in Adolescent Tobacco Use Across Waves 1–4 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study

BackgroundDespite decreases in adolescents' cigarette use over the past decade, overall rates of adolescent tobacco use have increased. Research examining adolescents' changes across a range of tobacco products reflective of the current market, as well as multilevel predictors of use trajectories is needed. MethodsData derive from Waves 1–4 (W1-4; 2013–2018) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study. Participants included 975 adolescents who used ≥1 tobacco product (cigarettes, electronic cigarettes [ECIGs], traditional cigars, cigarillos, filtered cigars, snus, smokeless tobacco [SLT], hookah) at any wave (W1 Mage = 13.29 [0.86], 54.2% male; 54.5% White, 25.9% Hispanic). ResultsUtilizing latent growth curve modeling (separate models per product), adolescents displayed increases in their past 30-day use of all tobacco products from W1-4. Greater W1 use was predicted by identifying as non-Hispanic (cigarettes); lower parent education (SLT); greater externalizing problems (cigarillos); greater motives (all products except cigarillos); greater youth-reported household smoking rules (cigarillos); and greater isolation (ECIGs). More use across time (i.e., higher slope) was predicted by older age (cigarettes); identifying as male (ECIGs, SLT), Black (vs. White; cigarillos), White (vs. Black, Hispanic; ECIGs, SLT); fewer externalizing problems (SLT); fewer motives (ECIGs); fewer youth-reported rules (cigarillos, SLT); and greater geographic isolation (cigarettes, SLT). DiscussionAlthough some individual-level factors (i.e., motives, externalizing problems) predicted greater W1 use (i.e., intercept) only, interpersonal- (parent rules) and community-level (geographic isolation) factors were associated with changes in use over time (i.e., slope). Intervention efforts may address such factors to reduce adolescents' escalations in use.

Peer pressure and social acceptability between hookah pipe users and non-users among a sample of South African adolescents

Background. Hookah pipe smoking is a high-risk phenomenon which is widely seen as an acceptable social practice, but the extent of its acceptability is not very clear among South African youth, nor is the influence of peers very clear.Objective. To establish a link between social acceptability and peer pressure and to compare this relationship among hookah pipe users and non-users in a sample of South African adolescents.Methods. A cross-sectional comparative correlation study was conducted among Grade 9 adolescents attending secondary schools in the Metro East Education District in Cape Town. The final sample comprised 270 participants. A questionnaire was used to collect data which were analysed using SPSS.Results. No relationship was found between peer pressure and social acceptability, but a relationship was found between parental rules and monitoring around tobacco use for hookah pipe users. A significant difference was also found in attitudes towards hookah use among users and non-users.Conclusion. This descriptive study of hookah pipe users and non-users among Grade 9 adolescents is a further study in the quantitative research approach and may be helpful in gaining more insight into understanding how parental rules and monitoring are put in place and why users’ and non-users’ attitudes towards tobacco use differ significantly. The implications and significance of this study are further explained.

Psychosocial factors related to sleep in adolescents and their willingness to participate in the development of a healthy sleep intervention: a focus group study

BackgroundOver the last decades, adolescents’ sleep has deteriorated, suggesting the need for effective healthy sleep interventions. To develop such interventions, it is important to first gather insight into the possible factors related to sleep. Moreover, previous research has indicated that chances of intervention effectivity could be increased by actively involving adolescents when developing such interventions. This study examined psychosocial factors related to sleep in adolescents and investigated adolescents’ willingness to participate in the development of a healthy sleep intervention.MethodsNine focus group interviews were conducted with seventy-two adolescents (63.9% girls, 14.8 (± 1.0) years) using a standardized interview guide. Interviews were audio-recorded and thematic content analysis was performed using Nvivo 11.ResultsAdolescents showed limited knowledge concerning sleep guidelines, sleep hygiene and the long-term consequences of sleep deficiency, but they demonstrated adequate knowledge of the short-term consequences. Positive attitudes towards sleep were outweighed by positive attitudes towards other behaviors such as screen time. In addition, adolescents reported leisure activities, the use of smartphones and television, high amounts of schoolwork, early school start time and excessive worrying as barriers for healthy sleep. Perceived behavioral control towards changing sleep was reported to be low and norms about sufficient sleep among peers were perceived as negative. Although some adolescents indicated that parental rules provoke feelings of frustration, others indicated these have a positive influence on their sleep. Finally, adolescents emphasized that it would be important to allow students to participate in the development process of healthy sleep interventions at school, although adult supervision would be necessary.ConclusionFuture interventions promoting healthy sleep in adolescents could focus on enhancing knowledge of sleep guidelines, sleep hygiene and the consequences of sleep deficiency, and on enhancing perceived behavioral control towards changing sleep. Interventions could also focus on prioritizing positive sleep attitudes over positive attitudes towards screen time, finding solutions for barriers towards healthy sleep and creating a positive perceived norm regarding healthy sleep. Involving adolescents in intervention development could lead to intervention components that match their specific needs and are more attractive for them.

Alcohol and Cannabis Use Milestones in Diverse Urban Adolescents: Associations with Demographics, Parental Rule Setting, Sibling and Peer Deviancy, and Outcome Expectancies

Objective: Alcohol and cannabis use progression milestones in adolescence (such as ages at first use, first intoxication and at onset of regular use) may inform the development of alcohol and cannabis use disorders. Although parent, sibling, and peer behavior and alcohol-related cognitions have been shown to be associated with alcohol milestone attainment, findings have been mixed; further, those factors’ associations with cannabis use milestones are unknown. This study examined whether progression through such milestones differed as a function of perceived peer/sibling deviancy, parental rule-setting, and substance use outcome expectancies in a racially diverse adolescent sample. Methods: Data were drawn from a two-wave longitudinal health survey study of 9-11th graders (n = 355 for the current analyses; M age=15.94 [SD = 1.07]; 44% male; 43% Black; 22% White; 18% Asian; 17% Multiracial; 10% Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity) at an urban high school. A series of logistic and proportional hazards regressions examined associations of peer/sibling deviancy, parental rule-setting, and outcome expectancies with age and attainment of alcohol/cannabis use milestones. Results: For both alcohol and cannabis, greater peer deviancy and positive expectancies were associated with higher odds of milestone attainment, while negative expectancies were associated with slower progression through milestones. For cannabis, but not alcohol, greater perceived sibling deviancy was positively associated with milestone attainment, while negative expectancies were associated with lower odds of milestone attainment. Conclusions: Perceived deviant behavior by peers and siblings, in addition to adolescents’ expectancies for either alcohol or cannabis use, is associated with attainment and progression through key adolescent substance use milestones.

Cannabis Use and Parenting Practices among Young People: The Impact of Parenting Styles, Parental Cannabis-Specific Rules, and Parental Cannabis Use.

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug. Its use typically starts in adolescence, and parents play a key role in young people’s cannabis use. Our study aimed to examine and compare the effects of parenting styles, parental cannabis-specific rules, and parental cannabis use on young people’s cannabis use. The research sample consisted of 839 students from various secondary education programs in Slovenia, aged 14 to 21. Associations between the young people’s lifetime cannabis use and their experience of parenting practices were assessed using logistic regression, with demographic, socioeconomic, educational, health, and risk behaviors controlled in a multivariate model. Maternal authoritative parenting (in comparison with permissive parenting), strict maternal, cannabis-specific rules, and parental cannabis non-use statistically significantly reduced the likelihood of young people’s cannabis use. Its strongest predictor was parental cannabis use, followed by the mother’s specific cannabis-use rules and maternal parenting style. The findings of our study can contribute to the development of public health policies to more effectively prevent cannabis use among adolescents and emerging adults, including by designing prevention programs aimed at strengthening parents’ general and cannabis-specific practices and competences.

Longitudinal associations of parental monitoring and delinquent peer affiliation: The potential influence of parental solicitation and monitoring rules.

Poor parental monitoring has been theorized as a key risk factor for an adolescent's association with deviant peers. However, measurements of parental monitoring often only measure parental knowledge rather than parental monitoring actions, leaving the true longitudinal associations between parental monitoring and peer delinquency unclear. The current sample consisted of 1095 male justice-involved adolescents (13-17 years old at baseline collected between 2011 and 2013) from across the United States who provided survey data every 6 months for 3 years. Longitudinal associations between parental monitoring constructs (i.e., parental solicitation and monitoring rules) and peer delinquency were tested using random intercept cross-lagged panel models to investigate both between-individual associations and within-individual bidirectional effects. Although parental monitoring and peer delinquency were negatively related at a between-individual level, very few within-individual directional effects were found. The few within-individual effects present indicated that parental solicitation predicted greater peer delinquency and peer delinquency predicted fewer parental monitoring rules over time. Current findings indicate that, while greater overall parental monitoring is associated with less peer delinquency, there is little evidence that changes in parental monitoring lead to reductions in peer delinquency over time. Results support previous findings suggesting parental monitoring should not be the sole target of intervention for reducing peer delinquency.

Egg rejection based on egg size recognition as a specific strategy against parasitic cuckoos.

In the coevolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts, egg recognition based on color and/or pattern is a common and effective defense to counter parasitism. However, for egg recognition based on size, only a few studies have found affirmative results, and they do not provide unambiguous evidence that egg size recognition in hosts has evolved as an important and specific anti-parasite adaptation against parasite eggs. We studied the brood parasite system between the Asian emerald cuckoo Chrysococcyx maculatus and its host, the chestnut-crowned warbler Phylloscopus castaniceps. The cuckoo parasitizes the warbler using non-mimetic and larger eggs at a parasitism rate of 12.9%. The warbler nests used in this experiment were built in a dark environment with the nest illuminance near 0 lux. Experiments with 2 types of model eggs with colors and patterns resembling cuckoo eggs of different sizes (cuckoo egg size or host egg size) showed that the warblers were able to reject 63.6% of cuckoo model eggs under these dim light conditions. However, model eggs with the same color and pattern similar to the warbler egg size were always accepted. This study provides strong evidence supporting the theory that egg size recognition can be evolved in hosts as a specific anti-parasite adaptation against cuckoos. We suggest that the egg size recognition of the warbler is an outcome of the tradeoff between the costs of violating the parental investment rule and suffering cuckoo parasitism.

The Phenomenon of Parental Rules in Middle Childhood: A Relational Perspective

This study investigated neglected processes by which parents create, set, and enforce rules for their children in middle childhood. Forty mothers reported their interactions with children aged 9-13 in the context of setting and enforcing rules and expectations. Data consisted of a five-day digital event diary and a semi-structured interview on parents’ implicit conceptions of rules and the process by which they set and enforced rules. The data were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Mothers’ reports departed from traditional conceptions in socialization research and family interventions that parents have explicit, stable rules that they should firmly enforce. Mothers indicated that their rules and expectations consisted of a flexible structure of infrequent firm expectations within which most other expectations were dynamically set or offered leeway for negotiation and resistance. Mothers also indicated that their rules and expectations emerged through a co-regulated bi-directional process to which parents and children contributed. The findings support transactional socialization and communication perspectives whereby parents interpret children’s behaviors and make complex choices in setting and implementing their expectations.

Individual-, peer-, and parent-level substance use-related factors among 9- and 10-year-olds from the ABCD Study: Prevalence rates and sociodemographic differences

BackgroundAlthough a relatively large body of research has identified multiple factors associated with adolescent substance use, less is known about earlier substance-related factors during preadolescence, including curiosity to use substances. The present study examined individual-, peer-, and parent-level domains pertaining to substance use and how these domains vary by sociodemographic subgroups and substance type. MethodsParticipants were 11,864 9- and 10-year-olds from the baseline sample of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Youth-reported measures were curiosity to use substances and perceived peer substance use. Parent-reported measures were availability of and rules about substances. Generalized logistic mixed models (GLMM) were used to compare these measures across alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana and across sociodemographic subgroupings (sex, race/ethnicity, household income, and family history of alcohol problems). GLMM was then used to examine predictors of curiosity to use by substance type. ResultsThe most striking descriptive differences were found between race/ethnicity and income categories (e.g., positive associations between greater income and greater availability of alcohol). In multivariable analyses, greater curiosity to use alcohol was associated with being male, higher household income, perceived peer alcohol use, and easy alcohol availability; greater curiosity to use nicotine was associated with being male, perceived peer cigarette use, easy availability of cigarettes, and no parental rules about cigarette use. ConclusionsThis study identified substance use-related individual-, peer-, and parent-level factors among a diverse, national sample. Findings highlight the importance of considering sociodemographic and substance-specific variability and may help identify risk and protective factors preceding adolescent substance use.

The degree of consistency of applying parental dietary and sedentary behavior rules as indicators for overweight in children: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundReview studies increasingly emphasize the importance of the role of parenting in interventions for preventing overweight in children. The aim of this study was to examine typologies regarding how consistently parents apply energy-balance related behavior rules, and the association between these typologies and socio-demographic characteristics, energy balance-related behaviors among school age children, and the prevalence of being overweight.MethodsFor this cross-sectional study, we had access to a database managed by a Municipal Health Service Department in the Netherlands. In total, 4,865 parents with children 4–12 years of age participated in this survey and completed a standardized questionnaire. Parents classified their consistency of applying rules as “strict”, “indulgent”, or “no rules”. Typologies were identified using latent class analyses. We used regression analyses to examine how the typologies differed with respect to the covariates socio-demographic characteristics, children’s energy balance-related behaviors, and weight status.ResultsWe identified four stable, distinct parental typologies with respect to applying dietary and sedentary behavior rules. Overall, we found that parents who apply “overall strict EBRB rules” had the highest level of education and that their children practiced healthier behaviors compared to the children of parents in the other three classes. In addition, we found that parents who apply “indulgent dietary rules and no sedentary rules” had the lowest level of education and the highest percentage of non-Caucasians; in addition, their children 8–12 years of age had the highest likelihood of being overweight compared to children of parents with “no dietary rules”.ConclusionsParents’ consistency in applying rules regarding dietary and sedentary behaviors was associated with parents’ level of education and ethnic background, as well as with children’s dietary and sedentary behaviors and their likelihood of becoming overweight. Our results may contribute to helping make healthcare professionals aware that children of parents who do not apply sedentary behavior rules are more likely to become overweight, as well as the importance of encouraging parents to apply strict dietary and sedentary behavior rules. These results can serve as a starting point for developing effective strategies to prevent overweight among children.

Clusters of Activity-Related Social and Physical Home Environmental Factors and Their Association With Children's Home-Based Physical Activity and Sitting.

Understanding which physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior correlates cluster in children is important, particularly in the home, where children spend significant time. Therefore, this study aimed to assess clustering of physical and social activity-related factors at home, and whether these clusters are related to home-based sitting and PA in children. A secondary aim was to explore whether the clusters were associated with child, parent, and family characteristics. Altogether, 235 children (55% girls, mean age = 10.2 [0.7]y) and their parents took part. Physical (eg,PA and electronic media equipment, house and garden size, layout) and social (eg,activity preferences, priorities, parental rules) home environmental factors were obtained via the HomeSPACE-II audit and self-report, respectively. Principal component analysis was used to identify clusters of physical and social environmental factors. Backward regression analysis and partial correlations were used to examine relationships between clusters, children's device-measured home-based activity behaviors, and background characteristics. The findings show that physical and social environment activity-related factors at home cluster. The clusters were associated with several background characteristics, with socioeconomic factors appearing to be particularly influential. The clusters were also associated with home-based activity behaviors in the hypothesized directions. Interventions which target clusters of social and physical factors at home, especially among low-socioeconomic status families, are warranted.

Theoretical Analysis of Accuracy-Based Fitness on Learning Classifier Systems

Like most evolutionary algorithms, accuracy-based learning classifier systems (XCSs) use a fitness metric to recognize the superiority of rules, under a principle that a higher-quality rule has a higher fitness. However, XCS must learn the fitness values under a reinforcement learning scheme. This introduces uncertainty and asynchrony to the fitness estimation while no theoretical work formally guarantees that such a basic principle would hold. The goal of this paper is to complement this fundamental lack in the reliability of XCS by mathematically analyzing its fitness-update scheme. Our main assumption is that the fitness is updated with an absolute accuracy instead of its relative accuracy to sidestep unpredictable dynamics of XCS. Our theoretical conclusion is that the superiority of rules can be correctly recognized through the accuracy-based fitness under finite update times. We further show that recognizing the superiority among low-quality rules is a costly procedure that increases the number of necessary rule-trainings. This drawback indicates that XCS may struggle to identify good parent rules at early generations, degrading the efficiency of evolutionary propagation.

Family Context Surrounding the Use of Technologies and Their Impact in Adolescents’ Media Multitasking

Recent studies pointed out that practically all adolescents are regular users of information and communications technology (ICT). Since the most usual context for the use of technology is the home, our aim is, on the one hand, to characterize the family technology context among adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years and, on the other hand, to analyse the relationship between multitasking and the different variables found within this family context. Participants were 977 adolescents. Significant relationship between the number of devices in the home and the frequency with which these are used are showed. Although a 60% of the adolescents have no parental rules over this use, there does not appear to be any relationship between the existence, or lack thereof, of rules over the use of ICT and multitasking. To reduce adolescents amount of media multitasking, we would recommend having fewer devices in the home rather than imposing rules about their use.

Recreational screen media use in Danish school-aged children and the role of parental education, family structures, and household screen media rules

Screen media use is part of most children's everyday lives, but organisations have advised that use should be limited. The aims of this study were to describe 6–11-year-old Danish children's screen device ownership and screen media use (weekdays and weekends), including the role of parental education, family structure and household screen media rules.We conducted a cross-sectional study including 5274 Danish children aged 6–11-years sampled from ten Danish municipalities from May 2019 to November 2020. Characteristics of the sample and source population were obtained from the Danish Health Data Authority. Parent's completed the SCREENS questionnaire, which was developed to assess children's screen media habits. We used inverse probability weighted logistic and linear regression models.Smartphone and laptop ownership was higher with increasing age, and use of screen media varied across day type, age and gender. The proportion of children using screen media more than 4 h/day was 13% (95% CI 12%;14%) for weekdays and 28% (95% CI 27%;29%) for weekend days. Children of parents with medium-length or long educations had statistically significant lower odds of using screen media more than 4 h/day. We found a statistically significant graded relationship between household screen media rules and children's screen media use; the less parents reported presence of rules, the more time their children spent on screen media engagements.Our results suggest that parental educational level and family structure are related to unfavourable screen media habits, and household screen media rules may play an important role for parents to limit children's screen use.

Parental self-control, rewards granting, children compliance and authorised parental rules as predictors of children's self-control

Parental self-control, rewards granting, children compliance and authorised parental rules as predictors of children's self-control

Do families have moderating or mediating effects on early health inequalities? A scoping review

Abstract Background During early childhood, families have a crucial impact on children's health behaviour, health, and development (bhd). However, a family's socioeconomic position (SEP) determines both the parental behaviour, living conditions, and child health. To understand how family characteristics may influence the development of health inequalities, this scoping review synthesised research on their mediating and moderating effects. Methods The review followed the guidelines of the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews. The search included German and English peer-reviewed articles published between January 1st, 2000 and December 19th, 2019. The search in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus used both free text terms in the title/abstract and index terms within linked keyword blocks: (1) family characteristics, (2) inequalities, (3) income, education, occupation, (4) bhd, (5) newborn, infant, toddler, preschooler. Two researchers independently examined eligibility for inclusion in two rounds (title/abstract; full-text). Results Of 7,089 articles identified, ten sources were included that studied family characteristics and health inequalities among 0-6 years olds. Parental rules, stress, and screentime, and TV in bedroom showed mediating effects on inequalities in behaviour problems or children's screentime. Families' negativity, single parenthood, and the number of children in the household moderated differences in impairment, health, behaviour problems, development or breastfeeding initiation. Conclusions The effect of family characteristics on early health inequalities has been sparsely investigated. The evidence supported models of family stress and investment. Further research is needed to comprehensively understand this association. Key messages Family characteristics contribute to health inequalities. Taking families’ stress and investment into account could improve targeted prevention efforts aimed at reducing health inequalities.

Are individual and social factors specific to the home associated with children's behaviour and physical environment at home?

ABSTRACT This study used linear regression analyses to investigate the influence of parent-reported home-specific social and individual factors on: (i) 235 children’s home-based objectively measured overall sitting time, breaks in sitting, and PA, and; (ii) the home physical environment via an audit. Parental importance assigned to active play for children was positively associated with PA equipment (accessibility and availability), as well as light physical activity (LPA) and sitting breaks on both weekdays and weekend days. Parental preference for being active at home and limits on screen-time were associated with less household media equipment and portable media equipment, respectively. Greater parental importance placed on playing electronic games/using computers for fun was associated with less LPA and more sitting on weekdays. Further, children who preferred being sedentary sat more and engaged in less moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on weekdays. Parental and child preferences and priorities, as well as parental rules for activity at home, were associated with children’s home-based sitting and PA, especially on weekdays. Such factors were also associated with the physical environment in the expected directions. The findings suggest interventions need to target social and individual factors, alongside adapting the physical environment to create homes more promotive of physical activity.

Associations Between Social Media, Bedtime Technology Use Rules, and Daytime Sleepiness Among Adolescents: Cross-sectional Findings From a Nationally Representative Sample.

BackgroundSocial media use is associated with poor sleep among adolescents, including daytime sleepiness, which affects adolescents’ mental health. Few studies have examined the associations among specific aspects of social media, such as frequency of checking and posting, perceived importance of social media for social belonging, and daytime sleepiness. Identifying whether certain adolescents are more at risk or protected from the effects of social media on sleepiness may inform future interventions for social media, sleep, and mental health.ObjectiveThis study aims to examine the association between social media use frequency and importance, daytime sleepiness, and whether the perceived importance of social media for social interactions and parental rules around bedtime technology moderated these relationships.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey study was conducted with a sample of 4153 adolescents from across the United States. Qualtrics was used to collect data via panel recruitment from a national sample representing the US demographics of teens aged 12 to 17 years. Participants completed measures of daytime sleepiness, frequency of social media checking and posting, and the importance of social media for social interactions. Parents reported whether they had a household rule around bedtime media and screen use. Hierarchical regressions and moderation analyses were conducted, covarying for age, gender, and age at first smartphone use.ResultsParticipants had a mean age of 14.64 (SD 1.66) years in grades 6 to 12, 46.45% (1929/4153) identified as female, and 67.93% (2821/4153) identified as White. The results indicated that adolescents who posted (B=0.70, SE 0.04; P<.001) or checked (B=0.76, SE 0.04; P<.001) social media more frequently or who perceived social media to be more important for social belonging (B=0.36, SE 0.02; P<.001) had higher levels of daytime sleepiness. Moderation analyses indicated that the relationship between social media use frequency and daytime sleepiness was exacerbated by higher levels of perceived social media importance (B=0.04, SE 0.01; P<.001). Adolescents without household rules around bedtime technology use were more likely to be affected by social media checking (B=−0.34, SE 0.09; P<.001) and importance (B=−0.16, SE 0.04; P<.001) on daytime sleepiness.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that social media use frequency and perceived importance of social interactions are associated with daytime sleepiness among adolescents. It is important to consider youth’s perceptions of social media when assessing the potential effects of social media use frequency on youth well-being. Furthermore, youth who did not have parental rules around bedtime technology use were most likely to be affected by social media use and perceived importance. The findings may extend to other mental health outcomes and may guide future prevention and intervention programs designed to improve social media use, sleep, and mental health.

Video game playing among preschoolers: prevalence and home environment in three provinces from Turkey

ABSTRACT We aimed to investigate the video game habits and their relationship with home environment in children 2–5 years in Turkey. A structured questionnaire about the child’s demographic, screen, and video gaming characteristics was completed by parents in five health centers from three provinces. One-quarter of 1245 preschoolers were found to play video games. The prevalence of playing video games was higher in older age, male gender, low parental education, families with 3 or more children, having a game console, computers and tablets at home, child’s screen time of more than 2 hours per day, child’s non-compliance with the parental screen rules, and presence of someone else playing videogame at home. Of the parents, 54.5% did not know the name of the video game the child was playing. Parents should be counseled about supervising on their children’s video game playing habits and selection of well-designed games with the right content.

Problematic internet use, depression, stress and anxiety amongadolescents in an urban area in South India: a cross sectional study

Background: Internet usage is ubiquitous, especially among young population in urban India. The present study aims to assess the burden of problematic internet use and to determine its association with depression, anxiety and stress among adolescents in urban South India. We have also assessed the role of parental/care giver factors in internet usage among the adolescents.Methods: This was a school based cross sectional study among two high schools in urban field practice area. The students were administered validated questionnaire on sociodemographic details, parental/care giver factors, pattern of internet usage, problematic and risky internet use screening scale as well as depression, anxiety and stress scale-21.The descriptive data was analysed as proportions and associations were determined using Chi square tests.Results: 24% of students had PIU and this was significantly associated with stress, depression and anxiety. 33% had stress and class of studying was found to be the only significant determinant. Almost half (48%) had depression and class of studying, type of family as well as mother’s occupation were the significant determinants. Half (50%) had anxiety with the significant determinants being age, class of studying, type of family, type of school, religion and father’s education. The only common factor found to significantly affect internet usage was parental rule setting and supervision.Conclusions: Depression, stress and anxiety were associated with PIU. Setting and enforcing reasonable rules while maintaining trust and emotional support is essential to protect adolescents from the harmful effects of problematic internet usage.