Family climate and parental control: Impact on students’ inadequate use of social networks and Internet

This research delves into how family climate and parental control influence adolescent students’ propensity towards inadequate social networks (SNs) and Internet usage, emphasizing violent behaviour and unsuitable content consumption beyond mere addiction. This study’s core objective was to explore the mediation role of parental control between family climate and adolescent students’ inadequate use of SNs and Internet. For this purpose, we also adapted a previous scale on family climate and validated it, thus developing the “Adolescents’ perception of family social climate scale”. The sample consisted of 869 secondary school students from different regions across Spain. After validating the scale, the results supported a fully mediated versus a partially mediated model. Specifically, the findings highlighted that a supportive and bonding family climate favours parental control mechanisms, thereby reducing the students’ engagement in inadequate online activities. Conversely, a conflictive family climate was found to undermine parental control, potentially leading to increased instances of inadequate SNs and Internet use among students. These findings underscore the interplay between family climate, parental control, and students’ online behaviour, suggesting that interventions aimed at improving family dynamics and parental control strategies could effectively mitigate risks associated with the inadequate use of SNs and Internet.