Parental Strategies for Mitigating Online Threats and Enhancing Children’s Cybersecurity Awareness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32890/jict2025.24.4.5Keywords:
Children’s cybersecurity awareness, online threats, digital parenting approaches, cybersecurity awareness, information securityAbstract
The widespread adoption of digital technology has also resulted in a concerning trend: the rise in online threats targeted at children. As online threats to children continue to increase, parents need to take proactive steps to protect their children’s safety on the Internet. This research explores how parents respond to online threats affecting their children by examining their cyber-parenting approaches and coping strategies through Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). This research involved semi-structured interviews with nine parents whose children had experienced online threats. The study revealed that authoritative parenting, which balances autonomy with guidance, was the most adopted approach by parents. Conversely, parents with a high level of digital literacy tended towards an authoritarian style, characterised by rigorous monitoring of their adolescents' online activities. Following online threat incidents, parents adopted both problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. These responses reflected varying degrees of threat appraisal and coping appraisal, consistent with PMT constructs. By identifying prevalent parenting styles and coping strategies, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how parental behaviours influence children’s online behaviours and resilience to cyber incidents. The study also found that effective parental mediation not only reduces children’s exposure to harm but also plays a critical role in fostering their cybersecurity awareness, empowering them to recognise risks, apply protective behaviours, and navigate digital environments with greater confidence. Such insights are critical for designing effective interventions and educational initiatives aimed at fostering safer digital practices among families, particularly in raising children’s awareness.
References
Ahmad, N., Arifin, A., Mokhtar, U. A., Hood, Z., Tiun, S., & Jambari, D. I. (2019). Parental awareness of cyber threats using social media. Malaysian Journal of Communication, 35(2), 485–498. https://doi.org/10.17576/jkmjc-2019-3502-29
Aiken, M., Davidson, J., & Amann, P. (2016). Youth pathways into online threats. Paladin Capital Group.
Ayyash, M., Alsboui, T., Alshaikh, O., Inuwa-Dutse, I., Khan, S., & Parkinson, S. (2024). Cybersecurity education and awareness among parents and teachers: A survey of Bahrain. IEEE Access, 12, 86596–86617. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2024.3416045
Baker, J. P., & Berenbaum, H. (2007). Emotional approach and problem-focused coping: A comparison of potentially adaptive strategies. Cognition and Emotion, 21(1), 95–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930600562276
Balogh, K. N., Mayes, L. C., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Risk-taking and decision-making in youth: Relationships to addiction vulnerability. Journal of Behavioural Addictions, 2(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1556/jba.2.2013.1.1
Barnes, R., & Potter, A. (2020). Sharenting and parents’ digital literacy: An agenda for future research. Communication Research and Practice, 7(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/2204 1451.2020.1847819
Basir, E. K. (2024). Addressing social media challenges for children. Bernama. https://www.bernama. com/en/bfokus/news.php?current&id=2358825#:~:text=On%20Oct%2026%2C%20Communi cations%20Minister,groups%20on%20social%20media%20platforms
Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431691111004
Benatov, J. (2019). Parents' feelings, coping strategies, and sense of parental self-efficacy when dealing with children's victimisation experiences. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, 700. https://doi.org/10. 3389/fpsyt.2019.00700
Benedetto, L., & Ingrassia, M. (2021). Digital parenting: Raising and protecting children in media. In Parenting: Studies by an ecocultural and transactional perspective (p. 127). https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92579
Bernama. (2022). Almost RM600 million was lost to online threats in 2022. Bernama. https://www.bernama.com/en/general/news.php?id=2156221
Borwell, J., Jansen, J., & Stol, W. (2025). The psychological impact of online threat victimisation: The importance of personal and circumstantial factors. European Journal of Criminology, 14773708241312506. https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708241312506
Brauchli, V., Sticca, F., Edelsbrunner, P., von Wyl, A., & Lannen, P. (2024). Are screen media the new pacifiers? The role of parenting stress and parental attitudes for children's screen time in early childhood. Computers in Human Behaviour, 152, 108057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023. 108057
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Brewer, R., Cale, J., Goldsmith, A., & Holt, T. (2018). Young people, the Internet, and emerging pathways into criminality: A study of Australian adolescents. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 12(1), 115–132. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1467853
Chang, V., Golightly, L., Xu, Q. A., Boonmee, T., & Liu, B. S. (2023). Cybersecurity for children: An investigation into the application of social media. Enterprise Information Systems, 17(11). https://doi.org/10.1080/17517575.2023.2188122
Chen, H., Chen, Y., & Chen, J. (2024). Protecting teenagers’ gaming privacy: The roles of parental mediation, platform protection, and risky encounters. Behaviour & Information Technology, 43(14), 3578-3591. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2285941
Chenoweth, T., Minch, R., & Gattiker, T. (2009, January). Application of protection motivation theory to the adoption of protective technologies. In 2009 42nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 1–10). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/hicss.2009.74
Chong, S. C., Teo, W. Z., & Shorey, S. (2023). Exploring the perception of parents on children's screentime: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. Pediatric Research, 94(3), 915–925. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02555-9
Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2014). Thematic analysis. In Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology (pp. 1947-1952). Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613
Conner, M., & Norman, P. (2015). Predicting and changing health behaviour. McGraw-Hill Education. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB04317870
Dodge, C. E., Fisk, N., Burruss, G. W., Moule Jr., R. K., & Jaynes, C. M. (2023). What motivates users to adopt cybersecurity practices? A survey experiment assessing protection motivation theory. Criminology & Public Policy, 22(4), 849–868. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133. 12641
Durak, A., Durak, H. Y., Saritepeci, M., & Dilmaç, B. (2024). Examining the factors affecting parental supervision in cyberbullying prevention: Demographics, parental mediation, and digital parenting awareness. Families in Society, 106(1), 176–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389 4231225793
Elsaesser, C., Russell, B., Ohannessian, C. M., & Patton, D. (2017). Parenting in a digital age: A review of parents' role in preventing adolescent cyberbullying. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 35, 62–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.06.004
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024, January 16). Sextortion: A growing threat targeting minors. FBI Miami Field Office. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/miami/news/sextortion-a-growing-threat-targeting-minors
Fidan, N. K., & Olur, B. (2023). Examining the relationship between parents’ digital parenting self-efficacy and digital parenting attitudes. Education and Information Technologies, 28(11), 15189-15204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11841-2
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). Coping as a mediator of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(3), 466–475. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.3.466
Gómez-Ortiz, O., Romera, E. M., Ortega-Ruiz, R., & Del Rey, R. (2018). Parenting practices as risk or preventive factors for adolescent involvement in cyberbullying: Contribution of children and parent gender. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(12), 2664. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122664
Green, D. L., Choi, J. J., & Kane, M. N. (2010). Coping strategies for victims of crime: Effects of the use of emotion-focused, problem-focused, and avoidance-oriented coping. Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment, 20(6), 732–743. https://doi.org/10.1080/109113510037 49128
Guo, S., Xu, J., Wang, M., Akezhuoli, H., Zhou, X., & Lu, J. (2024). The effects of parent-child separation on the digital literacy of children and adolescents: A bidirectional perspective study. Heliyon, 10(10), e22695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31113
Hassan, S., Ahmad, R., Katuk, N., Ghazali, N. N., Aripin, J. A., & Ali, F. (2024). Staying one step ahead: Exploring protection motivation theory to combat cyber-fraud among e-services users. Procedia Computer Science, 234, 1364-1371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2024.04.
Hidayat, M. L., & Listiawati, V. (2018). The urgency of parents’ digital literacy to prevent their children from harmful effects of smart-mobile devices. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Child-Friendly Education, (Vol. 4, pp. 618–624).
Hong, J. S., Kim, D. H., Thornberg, R., Kang, J. H., & Morgan, J. T. (2018). Correlates of direct and indirect forms of cyberbullying victimisation involving South Korean adolescents: An ecological perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 327–336. https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.chb.2018.06.010
Hoskins, D. H. (2014). Consequences of parenting on adolescent outcomes. Societies, 4(3), 506–531. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc4030506
Hwang, Y., Choi, I., Yum, J. Y., & Jeong, S. H. (2017). Parental mediation regarding children’s smartphone use: Role of protection motivation and parenting style. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(6), 362–368. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0555
Jang, Y., & Ko, B. (2023). Online safety for children and youth under the 4Cs framework—A focus on digital policies in Australia, Canada, and the UK. Children, 10(8), 1415. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10081415
Kalkim, A., Korkmaz, E. K., & Toraman, A. U. (2024). Examining the relationship between digital parenting self-efficacy and digital parenting awareness of early adolescents' parents. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 78, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2024.05.028
Kanan, N., Arokiasamy, L., & Ismail, M. R. (2018). A study on parenting styles and parental attachment in overcoming internet addiction among children. In SHS Web of Conferences, (Vol. 56, p. 2002). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20185602002
Katz, I., Lemish, D., Cohen, R., & Arden, A. (2019). When parents are inconsistent: Parenting style and adolescents' involvement in cyberbullying. Journal of Adolescence, 74, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.04.006
Kuppens, S., & Ceulemans, E. (2019). Parenting styles: A closer look at a well-known concept. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(1), 168–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1242-x
Lai, F., Li, D., & Hsieh, C. T. (2012). Fighting identity theft: The coping perspective. Decision Support Systems, 52(2), 353–363.
Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Coping theory and research: Past, present, and future. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55(3), 234–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2011.09.002
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1987). Transactional theory and research on emotions and coping. European Journal of Personality, 1(3), 141–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/per. 2410010304
Lee, S. J., & Chae, Y. G. (2007). Children's Internet use in a family context: Influence on family relationships and parental mediation. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 10(5), 640-644. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2007.9975
Ling, C., Balcı, U., Blackburn, J., & Stringhini, G. (2021). A first look at zoombombing. In 2021 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP) (pp. 1452–1467). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ sp40001.2021.00061
Livingstone, S., & Helsper, E. J. (2008). Parental mediation of children's internet use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(4), 581-599. https://doi.org/10.1080/088381508024 37396
Livingstone, S., Mascheroni, G., Dreier, M., Chaudron, S., & Lagae, K. (2015). How parents of young children manage digital devices at home: The role of income, education and parental style. European Commission Joint Research Centre.
Lo, B. C. Y., Lai, R., Ng, T. K., & Wang, H. (2020). Worry and permissive parenting in association with the development of internet addiction in children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 7722. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217722
Lou, S. J., Shih, R. C., Liu, H. T., Guo, Y. C., & Tseng, K. H. (2010). The influences of the sixth graders' parents' internet literacy and parenting style on internet parenting. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 9(4), 173–184.
Maddux, J. E., & Rogers, R. W. (1983). Protection motivation and self-efficacy: A revised theory of fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19(5), 469–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(83)90023-9
Mallik, C. I., & Radwan, R. B. (2020). Adolescent victims of cyberbullying in Bangladesh-prevalence and relationship with psychiatric disorders. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2019.101893
Manoharan, S., Katuk, N., Hassan, S., & Ahmad, R. (2022). To click or not to click the link: the factors influencing internet banking users’ intention in responding to phishing emails. Information & Computer Security, 30(1), 37-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/ics-04-2021-0046
Marret, M. J., & Choo, W. Y. (2017). Factors associated with online victimisation among Malaysian adolescents who use social networking sites: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 7(6), e014959. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014959
Martens, M., De Wolf, R., & De Marez, L. (2019). Investigating and comparing the predictors of the intention towards taking security measures against malware, scams and online threat in general. Computers in Human Behaviour, 92, 139-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018. 11.002
Mascheroni, G., Ponte, C., & Jorge, A. (2018). Digital parenting: The challenges for families in the digital age. Nordicom, University of Gothenburg. Moreno–Ruiz, D., Martínez–Ferrer, B., & García–Bacete, F. (2019). Parenting styles, cyberaggression, and cybervictimization among adolescents. Computers in Human Behaviour, 93, 252–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.031
Okeke, C. V., Obi-Nwosu, H., & Onuoha, O. C. (2024). Parental styles and moral disengagement as predictors of attitude towards online threat among undergraduates. Zik Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 7(1), 207-222.
Pazarcikci, F. (2024). Risk factors for technology addiction in young children ages 2–5 years. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 78, e141-e147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2024.06.029
Plowman, L. (2015). Researching young children's everyday uses of technology in the family home. Interacting with Computers, 27(1), 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwu031
Razali, N. A., & Nawang, N. I. (2022). An overview of the legal framework governing cyberbullying among children in Malaysia. IIUMLJ, 30, 207. https://doi.org/10.31436/iiumlj.v30iS1.704
Rogers, R. (1983). Cognitive and physiological processes in fear appeals and attitude change: A revised theory of protection motivation. In: Cacioppo, J. and Petty, R. (Eds.), Social psychophysiology, 153-177, Guilford Press. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10017980757
Rogers, R. W. (1975). A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change. The Journal of Psychology, 91(1), 93–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1975.9915803
Rogers, R. W., & Prentice-Dunn, S. (1997). Protection motivation theory. In D. S. Gochman (Ed.), Handbook of Health Behavior Research 1: Personal and Social Determinants (pp. 113–132). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/1.3.153
Rubis, A. B. (2024). Successful strategies used by health care business managers to reduce data breaches [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Walden University.
Sabillon, R., Cano, J. J., & Serra-Ruiz, J. (2016). Online threat and cybercriminals: A comprehensive study. International Journal of Computer Networks and Communications Security, 4(6), 165-176.
Samsudin et al. (2023). Prevalence of cyberbullying victimisation and its association with family dysfunction, health behaviour and psychological distress among young adults in urban Selangor, Malaysia: A cross-sectional study. BMJ open, 13(11), e072801. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072801
Sciacca, B., Laffan, D. A., O'Higgins Norman, J., & Milosevic, T. (2022). Parental mediation in pandemic: Predictors and relationship with children's digital skills and time spent online in Ireland. Computers in Human Behavior, 127, 107081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb2021. 107081
Shin, W., & Lwin, M. O. (2022). Parental mediation of children’s digital media use in high digital penetration countries: Perspectives from Singapore and Australia. Asian Journal of Communication, 32(4), 309–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2022.2026992
Steinberg, L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review, 28(1), 78–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002
Teimouri, M. (2015). An integrated model to reduce online risks for children [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2(17-37), 25.
Tomczyk, Ł., & Potyrała, K. (2021). Parents’ knowledge and skills about the risks of the digital world. South African Journal of Education, 41(1). https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v41n1a1833
UNICEF. (n.d.). Protecting children online. https://www.unicef.org/protection/violence-against-children-online
Valcke, M., Bonte, S., De Wever, B., & Rots, I. (2010). Internet parenting styles and the impact on internet use of primary school children. Computers & Education, 55(2), 454–464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.02.009
Waldman-Levi, R., Finzi-Dottan, R., & Weintraub, N. (2013). Attachment security and parental perception of competency among abused women in the shadow of PTSD and childhood exposure to domestic violence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2, 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9813-3
Wechsler, B. (1995). Coping and coping strategies: A behavioural view. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 43(2), 123–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-1591(95)00557-9
Wegener, D. T., Petty, R. E., & Klein, D. J. (1994). Effects of mood on high elaboration attitude change: The mediating role of likelihood judgments. European Journal of Social Psychology, 24(1), 25–43. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420240103
We Protect Global Alliance (2024). The rise of sextortion and responses to a growing crime. WeProtect Global Alliance. https://www.weprotect.org/thematic/sextortion/
Wisniewski, P. J., Knijnenburg, B. P., & Lipford, H. R. (2017). Making privacy personal: Profiling social network users to inform privacy education and nudging. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 98, 95-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2016.09.006
Wisniewski, P., Ghosh, A. K., Xu, H., Rosson, M. B., & Carroll, J. M. (2017). Parental control vs. teen self-regulation: Is there a middle ground for mobile online safety? In Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (pp. 51-69). https://doi.org/10.1145/2998181.2998352
Woon, I., Tan, G. W., & Low, R. (2005). A protection motivation theory approach to home wireless security. Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Information Systems.
Yaman, F., Çubukçu, A., Küçükali, M., & Yurdakul, I. K. (2021). An investigation of parents’ use of digital media. Shanlax International Journal of Education, 10(1), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.34293/education.v10i1.4327
Yusuf, M., Witro, D., Diana, R., Santosa, T. A., & Jalwis, J. (2020). Digital parenting to children using the internet. Pedagogik Journal of Islamic Elementary School, 3(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.24256/pijies.v3i1.1277
Zhu, C., Huang, S., Evans, R., & Zhang, W. (2021). Cyberbullying among adolescents and children: A comprehensive review of the global situation, risk factors, and preventive measures. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.634909
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Information and Communication Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Research impact
Harvested 2026-09-05Counts differ between services because each indexes a different body of literature. None of them is the whole picture.
2002 - 2020
