title: Parental knowledge and youth risky behavior: a person oriented approach.
abstract: Most studies isolate the effects of one knowledge-related behavior on youth outcomes. This study explores the relationship between subgroups of mother-youth dyads that use specific combinations of parental knowledge-related behaviors and youth risky behavior. Using a sample of 796 rural 6th graders (53% female), we assessed mother and youth reports of maternal knowledge, active parent monitoring efforts, youth disclosure, parental supervision, and the amount of parent-youth communication to identify five knowledge latent classes: High-Monitors, Maternal Over-Estimators, Low-Monitors, Communication-Focused, and Supervision-Focused. Delinquency, antisocial peers, and substance use were associated with increased odds of membership in the Supervision-Focused class, relative to the High Monitors. Membership in the Low Monitors and Maternal Over-Estimators classes was associated with unhealthy attitudes towards substances and for Low Monitors, substance use. The discussion focuses on the value of using a person-oriented approach to understand parental knowledge and risky behavior during early adolescence and intervention implications.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Healthy Aging, The Pennsylvania State University, 118 Henderson Bldg., University Park, PA, 16802, USA, mal394@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lippold
authors.forename: Mark T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires