Digital Risks and Family Dynamics: Adolescents’ Perceptions of How Communication Styles Shape Risky Social Media Behavior

This thesis examines how family communication styles influence adolescents’ engagement in risky social media behaviours. Draw-ing from Family Communication Patterns Theory (Koerner & Fitzpatrick, 2002), Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Framework (1991), and the Biopsychosocial Model of Adolescent Risk-Taking (Sales & Irwin, 2009), it explores how family dynamics, internalized norms, and external influences shape online behaviour. These frameworks emphasize the importance of communication orienta-tion, parenting responsiveness and control, and the interplay of developmental, social, and individual factors. The study investi-gates how adolescents describe family communication around online risks, whether open communication fosters digital literacy, and the effects of restrictive styles on disclosure and secrecy. It also examines the role of peer norms in digital decision-making. Research questions are operationalized through qualitative focus groups, enabling an exploration of how theoretical constructs are reflected in lived experiences. The analysis attends to how participants describe and attribute meaning to these constructs within family relationships and digital practices. This approach preserves the conceptual integrity of the models while extending them into an adolescent-centred and meaning-focused qualitative exploration.