Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Chet Lesniak

Abstract

The pathological use of social media is a growing problem for diverse groups today. For parents, the resulting detachment from their adolescent children, compromised communication, and limited monitoring of children's activities appear highly correlated with increased adolescent delinquency. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the predictive relationships between Mexican American parents’ pathological use of social media and their adolescent's delinquent behavior and between these parents’ parenting styles and their adolescent's delinquent behavior. Unhealthy parenting styles have also been associated with delinquency in adolescents. The theoretical foundation of the study was based on Bowlby’s attachment theory and on Lakey and Orehek’s relational regulation theory. Participants were Mexican American parents of adolescents who were involved in the legal system. As part of an online survey, the Social Networking Addiction Scale and the Social Media Engagement Questionnaire were used to determine addictive social media patterns. The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire was used to determine healthy and unhealthy parenting typologies. An ordered logistic regression analysis indicated no significant statistical relationship between participants' use of social media and their adolescent's delinquent behavior and between participants' parenting styles and their adolescent's delinquent behavior. The study’s implications for positive social change include informing the development of educational materials and parenting programs that target the growing population of Mexican American families in South Texas; dissemination of these resources may lead to a decrease in adolescents’ delinquent behavior.

Download

Share

 
COinS