ABSTRACT
Kerr and Stattin (this volume) focus on two main issues. First, they make the crucial point that the direction of causality in parental monitoring processes is unclear; hence, it is necessary to determine whether these processes are a cause of variations in child externalizing behaviors or a consequence of them. Is inadequate parental monitoring a risk factor for the development of aggressive and delinquent behaviors, or do aggressive and delinquent behaviors evoke or suppress parental monitoring processes? Second, Kerr and Stattin note the importance of moving beyond the statistical association between parental monitoring and children’s externalizing behaviors to the rigorous testing of the hypothesis that this association represents a causal mechanism by which parental monitoring reduces children’s risk of developing externalizing behaviors. They emphasize the need to consider causal chains over time and to examine the role of individual differences in parental monitoring together with the mechanisms involved.
