Examining the reciprocal associations between delinquency and parental monitoring in two adolescent samples: a within- and between-person latent variable analysis

This study assesses the extent to which parental monitoring is an action or reaction by examining the bidirectional relationship between delinquency and parental monitoring across adolescence. Using two samples, a normative and at-risk sample, the current study uses an innovative Autoregressive Latent Trajectory Model with Structured Residual (ALT-SR) to examine the within-person (time-invariant) and between-person (time-variant) associations between delinquency and parental monitoring over a long period of time. On average, delinquency and parental monitoring was highest at younger ages and decreased over time for both samples. Delinquency and parental monitoring were negatively associated at the between-person, trait-like level. Individuals who reported higher delinquency tended to report lower parental monitoring. Within-person cross-lagged results found support for parental monitoring as an action. Parental monitoring was associated with decreases in adolescent delinquency over time for both samples. Parental monitoring as a reaction differed by sample. For the normative sample, delinquency was associated with decreases in parental monitoring over time. When individuals reported higher levels of delinquency then their typical levels, they reported lower rates of parental monitoring at the next time point. However, the magnitude of this association was stronger during late adolescence. The at-risk sample did not suggest any evidence of parental monitoring as a reaction. Adolescent delinquency was not associated with parental monitoring during early/middle or late adolescence. Findings suggest the need for prevention and intervention efforts to target parenting ecologies. Programs that focus on improving parental monitoring efforts may find success in reducing delinquency in both normative and high-risk samples