The relative importance of paternal and maternal parenting as predictors of adolescents' home Internet use and usage

This study examined parental education, parental information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, and parenting style as predictors of adolescents' home Internet use and usage by employing relative importance analysis. Irrespective of adolescents' gender, the three most important predictors of learning-related Internet usage were maternal education, paternal monitoring style, and maternal monitoring style. Male adolescents were highly influenced by maternal education and paternal parenting styles, whereas female adolescents were highly influenced by maternal parenting styles and paternal education. The three most important predictors of leisure-related Internet usage were maternal permission style, paternal permission style, and paternal monitoring style. Maternal permission style and paternal permission style were the most important predictors for male adolescents. Maternal permission style, paternal ICT literacy, paternal monitoring style, and maternal worry style were the most important predictors for female adolescents. •The study examined whether three major parenting variables predict home Internet usage.•Relative importance analysis was used to address the multicollinearity issue among variables.•Maternal education and parental monitoring style predicted learning-related Internet usage.•Parental permission and paternal monitoring styles predicted leisure-related Internet usage.