Abstract

In this study, parental monitoring construct was disentangled through the introduction of the family communication variable. Two mediation models were tested: The model in which parental solicitation was significantly associated to youth disclosure, and in which both solicitation and youth disclosure fostered the development of positive family communication, fitted data better than the model in which family communication fostered parents' and children's monitoring behaviors. In the first model parental knowledge was achieved through two paths: (1) parental control was directly related to parental knowledge, and (2) family communication mediated the relation of parental solicitation and youth disclosure with parental knowledge, thereby highlighting more complex dynamics.