Child Mediation: effective education or conflict stimulation? Adolescents’ child mediation strategies in the context of sharenting and family conflict

Abstract

This study increased the insights on child mediation by investigating whether and how adolescents use child mediation strategies in the context of their parents’ sharenting behavior and how this is related with family conflict. The results of a survey among adolescents confirmed their use of active, restrictive, and supervising child mediation strategies in the context of sharenting. Sharenting frequency of both mothers and fathers was associated with increased use of restrictive strategies. For mothers, it appeared that sharenting frequency directly and indirectly predicted more family conflict about sharenting via restrictive child mediation. For fathers, no significant effects were found from sharenting frequency on conflict about sharenting.