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Close parent-child relationships are protective against the development of delinquent behavior. By creating a context for open communication and trust, parents positively influence adolescent development. The current study examined the associations among attachment quality, family problemsolving, and adolescent risk-taking behavior, as well as the mediating effect of family problem-solving on the relationship between attachment quality and adolescent risk-taking behavior. Participants included 520 adolescents (ages 10 to 19, M = 14.24) and their parents or guardians (N = 520). Two path analyses were conducted to test study hypotheses. As predicted, attachment quality was negatively associated with parent and adolescent perceptions of adolescent risk-taking behavior and positively related to family problem-solving ability, after controlling for age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Contrary to our hypothesis, family problem-solving ability did not mediate the effect of attachment quality on parent or youth perceptions of adolescent risk-taking behavior. Preventive interventions that encourage warm, supportive bonds between parents and youth may aid families in deterring youth from negative risk-taking behavior. Further research should examine other family-level factors that might influence adolescent risk-taking via direct and indirect pathways.

Objective To assess parents' perceptions of barriers and facilitators to promoting informal mentoring relationships for their children with caring adults in their existing social network. Background Supportive relationships with nonparental adults are critical to positive youth development, social capital, healthy living, and upward mobility, but not all children experience such relationships. Because parents are the primary gatekeepers to children's social networks, we presumed that parents could play a role in shaping children's informal mentoring relationships. Method We conducted eight focus groups and used a semistructured interview to ask participants about mentoring and potential barriers or facilitators to connecting children with informal mentors. Participants were 55 parents/caregivers (Mage = 41.43 years; 96.4% female; 77.9% unmarried). Results Parents were open to the involvement of nonparental adults in children's lives, but they differed in the extent to which their social network offered viable mentor candidates. Other barriers included feeling too proud to ask for help and concerns that informal mentors would be unsafe or inconsistent. Facilitative factors included appreciating the benefits of informal mentoring relationships, feeling connected to one's community, and being able and willing to ask for help in the face of doubt or fear. Conclusion Parents were generally positive about children receiving support from informal mentors and acknowledged the potential role they could play in forming those connections; they also recognized potential barriers to making those connections. Implications Parents' perception about their “village” suggests the need to develop and evaluate programs that help parents connect children with supportive informal mentors.

Objective: The current study had two objectives: (a) describe demographic differences in parent technology use and (b) explore how parent technology use contributes to parent locus of control and how locus of control is associated with child problem behaviors. Background: The ubiquitous use of technology is likely to influence parenting and, in turn, children's outcomes. This study was designed to test the pathway from parents' technology use to children's problem behaviors through their locus of control for parenting. Method: Participants were 316 U.S. parents (36% fathers; M age = 41.93 years), recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk, with at least one child aged 10 to 18 years. Structural equation models were estimated to test the hypothesized paths. Results and Conclusion: Fathers and lower income parents reported significantly less frequent online information gathering and parents of color reported significantly more frequent calling and texting and social networking than White parents. Parents' texting and calling was positively, and online information gathering negatively, linked to child problem behaviors through parental locus of control. Implications: Understanding how diverse parents are using technology for parenting, and which online tools are effective for supporting parents is essential to developing online resources to support families.

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