higher parental knowledge at T1 was associated with decreased perceived peer substance use at T2, which is correlated with T2 externalizing behavior. Thus, it is possible that the lagged effect of parental knowledge might not be operating on externalizing behavior per se, but through the discouragement of affiliations with deviant peers. More generally, the lack of indirect effect via parental knowledge may in part also reflect that youth spend less time with parents during adolescence (Hill et al. 2007; Larson et al. 1996) as adolescents increasingly gain autonomy to shape their social worlds, with a consequent increase in the influence of peers.
