Project plan and objectives

In the PARKA project, we investigate how parental mediation (i.e., parenting strategies aimed at regulating children's and adolescents' use of digital technologies) relates to parents' knowledge of what their adolescent children do online.

Family psychology research shows that parental knowledge of children's whereabouts is associated with positive psychosocial adjustment of these children and adolescents. This is closely connected to adolescents' willingness to disclose information about their lives to their parents - whether they share it or hide certain aspects of their lives.

However, relatively little is known specifically about parental awareness of adolescents' online lives. How much do parents of early adolescents actually know about their children’s online activities and experiences? Do different parental mediation strategies help parents improve this knowledge? Can some of these strategies backfire and make adolescents conceal information about their online activities? What prevents adolescents from confiding in their parents when they experience something harmful online? Which online activities and experiences do teenagers consider private and none of their parents' business? And do parents feel the same way?

These are the questions we focus on in the PARKA project. To address them, we will use data from our previous project, FUTURE, and we will also collect new data from dyads of parents and their adolescent children aged 11-14. Specifically, we will investigate teens' online social activities, that is, how they use the internet to interact with other people. These activities include, for example, private communication with friends via Messenger, but also their use of social networking sites or sharing content with a wider audience. Our aim is to identify which parental mediation strategies promote information sharing between adolescents and parents. We also seek to shed light on why parents' awareness of some of their children's online activities is low. Overall, the project will deepen our knowledge of the effects of parental mediation and allow us to formulate specific advice for parents of children in early adolescence.

What we have done so far

We worked on existing data and published the first study that focuses on barriers preventing adolescents from confiding in parents with their experiences with online sexual solicitations (you can read more about the study HERE). 

We also prepared our questionnaire and collected the data in cooperation with the professional research agency STEM/MARK. The survey consisted of two parts: one for early adolescents and another for one of their parents. This design allows us to compare their reports on selected online activities and gain insights into what parents know about their children's online experiences. In total, we will analyze data from 1,562 dyads. 

The first results of the project were presented at two conferences: the MediaPsych Conference 2025 (14th Conference of the Media Psychology Division) in Duisburg, Germany, and the 2nd International Children and Youth Perspectives Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. The presentations and posters from the conferences are available in the "Research outputs" tab.

Project Period: 2024 - 2026
Investor: Czech Science Foundation​
Project number: GA24-10765S​
Researchers: Lenka Dědková, Vojtěch Mýlek, Barbora Lisztwan Honusová