Given the growing importance of internet use among teenagers, parents are currently challenged to mediate their children's use of technologies while seeking to foster their autonomy and selfregulation. Parental mediation, based on supervision and protection, of internet use by children is necessary, given the recognized risks. Thus, the main objective of this study is to verify the role of parental mediation in online risk behaviors in adolescents. More specifically: knowing the level of internet use by adolescents, as well as the parents' attitude towards the internet and the mediation activities they carry out with their children; to analyze the parents' perception of their children's use of the internet and the children's perception of their parents' mediation behavior; to determine the family socialization factors that best predict internet use in adolescents to provide data for family intervention. The sample consists of 140 students, aged between 15 and 20 years old. To collect data, a questionnaire adapted from the Mediación Parental scale (Yubero et al., 2018) and from the Online Risk Behaviors scale (RodríguezdeDios et al., 2018). Results reveal statistically significant relationship between permissive mediation and the online risk behavior “contact with strangers”. Furthermore, this study made it possible to point out, in a generic way, certain characteristics such as gender, it is in boys that online risk behaviors are more present “contact with strangers”, “online discrimination” and “exposure to violence” compared with girls and their parents' education, in which there is a positive relationship between parents' education and permissive mediation with the behavior “contact with strangers”; with “exposure to pornography”; with “exposure to violence” and “online discrimination”. Results show that teenagers use the internet for many hours, which increases the likelihood of exposure to online risks, which is why parental mediation is crucial for their prevention.
Date of Award | 16 Oct 2024 |
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Original language | Portuguese |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | Paulo César Dias (Supervisor) |
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- Online risk behaviors
- Parental mediation
- Internet/social media use
- Mestrado em Psicologia da Educação
Comportamentos de risco online e mediação parental em adolescentes
Files, M. I. S. (Student). 16 Oct 2024
Student thesis: Master's Thesis