Examining the relationship between perceived parental behaviors and adolescent self-efficacy and academic achievement in a Mexican population
Abstract
The present research examined adolescent perceived parental behaviors effects on adolescent self-efficacy and academic achievement. Two hierarchical regression analyses were conducted using data collected in Mexico through the Cross-National Study of Adolescents, a multi-country investigation into the effects of the parent-adolescent relationship. The sample included 1,200 participants, 14-17 years old, selected based upon their geographic location, level of marginalization, and level of urbanization. The study utilized the Unified Identity Theory to analyze how perceived parental behaviors, sociodemographic data, adolescent depression, problem behaviors, and work and/or study are related to adolescent self-efficacy and academic achievement. Results from the first study indicated that parental positive induction, monitoring, and punitiveness were significantly related to adolescent self-efficacy. Specifically, positive induction and monitoring were positively related to self-efficacy, while punitiveness was negatively related to self-efficacy. These results show that support, involvement, and knowledge of the adolescent activities were associated with increased adolescent self-efficacy. The use of verbal and physical punishing behaviors was associated with lower levels of self-efficacy. Results from the second study showed that academic motivation and educational aspirations have significant positive effects on adolescent academic achievement. Results obtained from separate models for mother and father parenting indicated a different pattern of results. Specifically, mothers autonomy granting was positively related to academic achievement, while permissiveness had a significant negative relation. None of the perceived parenting behaviors from the father model were significant. Family science is an area of research in Mexico that has previously focused on qualitative studies and has little supporting quantitative research. The results point to the importance of positive induction, monitoring, autonomy granting in the development of adolescent self-efficacy. With regard to academic achievement, the primary variables of importance were academic motivation and educational aspirations. Each of these factors can be used by parents and educators to aid in the process of adolescent development and educational attainment. The findings from this study show differences from other previous research which have found perceived parental behaviors to be significantly related to adolescent academic achievement (Fan & Chen, 2001; Ingolsby, Schvaneveldt, Supple, & Bush, 2003). Future recommendations are discussed with emphasis placed upon policy makers, researchers, educators, and parents.
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- OSU Dissertations [11222]