The main purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional relation between parental knowledge and self-control among South Korean youth using a nationwide cross-sequential data. Data included early adolescents (N=2,844, mean age at Wave 1=9.86 years) and middle adolescents (N=3,449, mean age at Wave 1=13.79 years) over the 3 and 4 yearly assessments, respectively. Latent growth curve models revealed that the relation between parental knowledge and adolescent self-control was not a unidirectional phenomenon, but rather bidirectional dynamic set of interactive processes. Evidence of reciprocal influences indicated that higher initial levels of adolescents’ perceptions of parental knowledge of their whereabouts and activities predicted slower rates of increase in their self-control and that higher initial levels of self-control predicted slower rates of increase in parental knowledge over time. The results point to the importance of a bidirectional, transactional view for understanding parent-adolescent interactions.

Keywords: self-control, parental knowledge, autonomy, bidirectional socialization, Korean youth