Parental Supervision and Adolescent Risky Behaviors

This paper re-examines the relationship between parental supervision and adolescents’ engagement in risky behaviors. Using the Child Development Supplement and Transition to Adulthood of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, I consider different measures of supervision among a sample of adolescents 10–21 years old. Issues relating to endogeneity bias and unobserved heterogeneity are accounted for using lagged amounts of supervision and fixed effects as an estimation strategy. The results highlight the role of fathers in mitigating cigarette smoking in the past month, regular alcohol consumption in the past year, and marijuana smoking in the past month. The research emphasizes the need to account for unobserved heterogeneity and supports the idea of looking at the different roles of each parent in affecting child outcomes.