When Parents Know Where Teens Are: Parental Monitoring and Risk in U.S. High Schools, 2021

Parents shape the choices teenagers make, and one of the most studied parts of that relationship is parental monitoring: setting boundaries and keeping an open flow of information about where a child is, who they are with and what they are doing. Earlier studies linked it to less sexual risk, less drinking and drug use, and less bullying and dating and sexual violence; less was known about mental health, or about how it works for groups such as sexual minority teens.

In 2021 CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) asked about it nationally for the first time. A CDC team led by Patricia J. Dittus analyzed the answers of 17,232 public and private high school students in grades 9–12 across the 50 states and D.C.

Image from CDC's MMWR report on parental monitoring.

The question

"How often do your parents or other adults in your family know where you are going or with whom you will be?" "Always" or "most of the time" counted as high monitoring; "never," "rarely" or "sometimes" as low.

Most teens say their parents know

Overall, 86.4% of students reported high parental monitoring. The share differed by group:

Lower risk across the board

After accounting for sex, race and ethnicity, sexual identity and grade, students reporting high monitoring were less likely to report every risk behavior and experience measured. A prevalence ratio below 1 means less common among highly monitored students; above 1, more common.

All differences statistically significant. Source: CDC, MMWR.

The gaps are large in plain percentages too. Among female students, 11.2% of those with high monitoring had attempted suicide in the past year, against 29.9% of those with low monitoring; among male students, 4.5% against 13.7%.

What it may mean

The measure captures what students believe their parents know. That likely reflects several things at once: parents asking and communicating, teens choosing to share, and warm, connected family relationships. Previous research found teens' sense of what their parents know depends both on parents asking and on how satisfied teens are with the relationship.

• Sex and substance use. Knowing where teens are can cut off opportunities for risky behavior, or for time with peers who encourage it. The findings match earlier studies and national drug-use surveys.
• Violence. High monitoring went with less electronic bullying and forced sex. Communication-focused monitoring and family connectedness have been tied to less victimization, and strong ties with parents and other caring adults may especially protect teens at higher risk. CDC's youth violence and adverse childhood experiences resources include parenting and family programs that teach communication, problem-solving and monitoring skills.
• Mental health. The strong link with less sadness and fewer suicide attempts is less direct, and suggests that what students report reflects good relationships rather than parental control. Monitoring built on involvement, information-sharing, warmth and support has shown promise for reducing poor mental health.
• Marginalized teens. For students who have faced isolation and marginalization, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning youth, monitoring works best when it creates a home where teens feel accepted and comfortable sharing, not merely when it limits opportunities for sex.

Limitations

1. The survey is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that monitoring causes the differences.
2. A single question cannot capture a complex idea that blends teens' disclosure, parents' questions and rule-setting.
3. Prescription opioid misuse may be overestimated, since the question asks about prescription pain medicine in general.

Researchers call for better measures, study of what supports parental monitoring — such as neighborhood cohesion, relationship quality and cultural values — and interventions tested across different teen and parent identities.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the United States.

Sources

Based on Dittus PJ, Li J, Verlenden JV, et al., "Parental Monitoring and Risk Behaviors and Experiences Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021," MMWR Supplements, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.