Abstract
There are different elements to parental monitoring including parental knowledge and parental control, which have differing links to child conduct problems. The aims of this study were to examine the antecedents of parental knowledge and control, and to explore the concurrent and longitudinal associations with child conduct problems over time. Secondary analyses were conducted using data from 1, 116 families with twins taking part in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. Assessments and interviews were conducted with mothers, teachers and children when children were aged 5, 7, 10, 12 and 18 years. Low family SES was found to predict lower parental knowledge and control at ages 10 and 12. Mother’s antisocial behaviour also predicted both parental knowledge and control at age 10, but only parental knowledge at age 12. Childhood conduct problems predicted later parental knowledge, but were not associated with parental control. Concurrently, conduct problems were negatively associated with parental knowledge, but were not robustly associated with parental control. Longitudinally, parental knowledge did not predict conduct problems independently of influences shared between siblings, therefore parental knowledge itself was not as influential as expected. Conversely, child conduct problems predicted less parental knowledge, over and above influences shared between siblings. As well as questioning the impact of parental knowledge on child conduct problems, these findings provide support for the importance of both child and parent-driven effects in contributing to behaviours’. Recommendations for future research and clinical intervention are discussed.