DO PARENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD OUTDOOR PLAY AND HANGING OUT INFLUENCE ADOLESCENTS’ TECHNOLOGY USAGE?
MICHELLE F. WRIGHT *
Masaryk University, Institute for Children, Youths, and Family Faculty of Social Studies Jostovo 10 Brno, 602 00, The Czech Republic
MONICA BARBOVSCHI
Masaryk University, Institute for Children, Youths, and Family Faculty of Social Studies Jostovo 10 Brno, 602 00, The Czech Republic
FATIH BAYRAKTAR
Masaryk University and Eastern Mediterranean University, Northern Cyprus, Turkey
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Some parents view adolescents’ outdoor play and hanging out as something which may cause injury or interfere with academics. As a consequence, these parents may encourage indoor activities, like technology usage, as a preferred alternative to outdoor activities. This study examined the mediation of adolescents’ own attitudes toward outdoor play and hanging out in the associations between parents’ attitudes (i.e., permissive, restrictive) toward these activities and adolescents’ technology usage. Participants were 996 European adolescents (ages 12-16 years; 52% girls) and their parents (N = 996; 79.4% mothers). Results indicated that parents’ permissive attitudes toward outdoor activities were related positively to adolescents’ preference for such activities (p < .001). This preference was associated negatively with adolescents’ technology usage (computer = p < .01; gaming consoles = p < .05; social networking sites = p < .05). Parents’ restrictive attitudes were related indirectly to adolescents’ technology usage through the mediation of adolescents’ perceptions of parents as barriers to outdoor activities (computer = p < .05; gaming consoles = p < .05). These findings suggest that parents’ attitudes shape adolescents’ preferences for indoor activities, leading to greater indoor electronic technology usage.
Keywords: Adolescents, indoor play, outdoor play, hanging out, technology usage, parental mediation, play