Son, Are You on Facebook? The Impact of Parental Involvement in School Interventions About E-Safety

• In Event: 61.086 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 61.086-7 - School Culture, Socialization, and Climate Influences on Learning Environments

Abstract

Media literacy interventions in secondary education typically have a limited impact on the participants’ behavior. Therefore, we developed a new e-safety intervention using a design-based research methodology. In the current study, it was verified whether involving parents actively in this intervention was helpful to decrease unsafe behavior on social network sites, or at least the intentions to behave unsafely. A quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-test measures in secondary education (n=207) showed that parental involvement was beneficial to change the intentions to engage in certain unsafe behavior, and to reduce existing problematic behavior, particularly for boys. These findings have important implications for research and practice, guiding us toward more effective e-safety interventions.

Authors

• Ellen Vanderhoven, iMinds-MICT-UGent

• Tammy Schellens, Ghent University

• Martin M. Valcke, Ghent University

• Hannelore Montrieux, Ghent University