Toward Predicting Youth Resistance to Internet Risk Prevention Strategies

Abstract

Strategies to protect youth from potentially problematic online experiences may be met with considerable resistance as young people may not be ready or willing to accept such interventions. This study seeks to identify specific Internet risk prevention strategies that are likely to be met with resistance from children and adolescents. It aims to advance the ability to predict when parents and their children will disagree on appropriate strategies for their household. A United States national sample of 456 parents indicated their level of support for a wide range of Internet risk prevention strategies. Their children, ranging from 10–16 years of age, also reported their own attitudes toward each strategy. Strategies resulting in the least disagreement from children include those that empower youth to protect themselves, as well as legal consequences or suspension from school for people who misbehave online. Analysis predicting disagreement between parents and their children revealed that certain characteristics of the relationship, particularly communicative difficulty and parenting style, factor into the problem. Studying the relationship between family communication and media use yields implications for parents and future research.

Notes

⁺ p ≤ .10;

*p ≤ .05;

**p ≤ .01;

***p ≤ .001.

¹“Safe Harbor” is a U.S. policy (administered through the FCC) that allows indecent material to be transmitted on broadcast radio and television, usually between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, when children are unlikely to be watching or listening.