Peer-reviewed article
Profiles of Digital Parenting Styles: Associations With Cyberbullying Among Adolescents.
Lee Y, Doty JL, Ma X, Waasdorp TE ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how different parenting approaches to children's digital activities relate to cyberbullying among adolescents. Researchers surveyed 306 parent-child pairs in the United States and identified four distinct digital parenting styles: low engagement, discordant, trust-based, and high engagement. Children whose parents used consistent, engaged, and trust-based approaches experienced less cyberbullying as both perpetrators and victims compared to those with disengaged or inconsistent parents.
Key points
- Four distinct digital parenting profiles were identified: low engagement (10%), discordant (24%), trust-based (32%), and high engagement (34%)
- Children of discordant and low-engagement parents reported significantly higher levels of cyberbullying perpetration
- Children of discordant parents showed the highest cyberbullying victimization rates
- Consistent, engaged, and trust-oriented parenting was associated with lower involvement in cyberbullying as both perpetrators and victims
- Study included 306 U.S. parent-child dyads with children averaging 11.8 years old
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and U.S.-based only, so it cannot establish causal relationships between parenting styles and cyberbullying, nor can findings be generalized to other countries with different digital contexts and cultural norms. The data relies on parent and child self-reports, which may be subject to social desirability bias.
Abstract
Introduction Cyberbullying is a growing concern in the digital age, posing serious threats to children's mental health, social relationships, and overall well-being. Parents raising children in a highly digitalized world employ a range of digital parenting strategies, including active monitoring, content regulation, and technology control, to guide children's online experiences. However, little research has examined the presence of heterogeneous profiles of these parenting strategies and examined how they influence children's involvement in cyberbullying behaviors. Guided by neo-ecological theory, an extension of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory into the digital context, this study investigated profiles of digital parenting styles and their associations with cyberbullying. Methods Data were drawn from 306 parent-child dyads in the U.S. (parents: M age = 38.52, 60.8% mothers; children: M age = 11.80, 50.7% boys). Parents completed surveys regarding digital parenting practices, while children reported their cyberbullying experiences. Latent profile analysis was conducted to identify distinct parenting profiles, and group differences in children's cyberbullying perpetration and victimization were examined. Results The analysis revealed four distinct digital parenting profiles: low engagement (10%), discordant (24%), trust-based (32%), and high engagement (34%). Children of parents with discordant and low-engagement profiles reported higher levels of cyberbullying perpetration compared to those in high-engagement and trust-based profiles. Similarly, children of discordant parents showed the highest levels of cyberbullying victimization, followed by those with low-engagement, trust-based, and high-engagement parents. Conclusions These findings underscore the importance of consistent, engaged, and trust-oriented digital parenting in reducing children's risks of becoming involved in cyberbullying, as perpetrators or victims.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Different digital parenting strategies including active monitoring, content regulation, and technology control employed in four distinct profiles
- Population
- 306 parent-child dyads in the U.S., children mean age 11.80 years (50.7% boys), parents mean age 38.52 years (60.8% mothers)
Key finding
High-engagement and trust-based parenting profiles associated with lowest cyberbullying perpetration