Low- and high-achieving Australian secondary school students: Their parenting, motivations and academic achievement

Perceived parental attitudes of the father and the school achievements of adolescents

BACKGROUND

This article focuses on the relationship between parental attitudes of the father perceived by adolescents and their school achievements. Nowadays, interest in the role of the father in raising a child is growing. The influence of the students' family environment in shaping their school achievement is very important.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

The study group consisted of 687 pupils, including 418 (60.8%) girls and 267 (39.2%) boys. Fathers' attitudes were examined with the Parental Attitudes Scale version of "My Father". In order to establish the relationship between the father's parental attitudes perceived by teenagers and grade point average (GPA), Pearson's r correlation coefficient values were calculated. In the next step the role of gender as a moderator of these relationships was evaluated.

RESULTS

The results of the conducted research show that the acceptance and autonomy attitudes positively correlate with the average grade from last year, while the requirements and inconsistency attitudes showed negative correlations with school achievements. The results indicated that gender moderated the relationship between perceived acceptance, autonomy, protectiveness and GPA.

CONCLUSIONS

It was found that an increase in the level of the father's perceived acceptance and autonomy leads to a higher average grade than the previous year, although only among girls. The level of protectiveness was found to be a negative predictor of school achievements, although only among boys.

Onset and trajectory of alcohol and other drug use among Aboriginal men entering a prison treatment program: A qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are vastly over-represented in Australian prisons. Many people in prison attribute in some way their offences to alcohol and/or other drug (AOD) use. This paper aims to understand AOD use before first and between terms in prison, among a group of Aboriginal men enrolled in a prison-based AOD treatment program. It examines opportunities for prevention or treatment that might interrupt the cycle of alcohol consumption, offending and imprisonment.

METHODS

A thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 14 Aboriginal men in an urban prison.

RESULTS

Participants had low levels of formal education, none having completed high school and had spent limited or no time in the workforce. All 14 spoke of being negatively affected by AOD use within their families. First alcohol and cannabis use were around age 12-14 years, first amphetamines and/or heroin use was around age 15. As adults, they had unstable accommodation and when released from prison returned to the same situation they had been in previously. Most believed they would not have offended and subsequently imprisoned if they did not have a substance use disorder.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Without further support post-prison, the men in this study are likely to return to the same situation and continue their AOD use. Further efforts are needed to support families with substance use disorders and to give young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people better education and training opportunities.

Is parents' education level associated with adolescent self-compassion?

Self-compassion has been identified as a trait that correlates with robust mental health; specifically, less anxiety, depression and stress in both adolescents and adults. However, little is known about the parental and family factors that are associated with adolescent self-compassion that may promote or enhance the development of this stress-buffering trait. In this study, 1057 adolescents in grades 7-12 from two different school settings answered questions in an online survey that related to their parents' education level and their own self-compassion. Results indicated that fathers' education, but not mothers', was associated with adolescent self-compassion. Specifically, adolescents whose fathers had a college education only had the highest level of self-compassion; a significant difference was found between self-compassion of adolescents of fathers' with a college degree and those with a doctorate/professional degree. Adolescents whose fathers had less than a college education (some college, high school graduate) or more than a college education (masters or doctorate/professional degree) reported lower self-compassion. As parent education level may be a proxy for other factors such as socioeconomic status, parenting style, or parent-adolescent relationship closeness, further research is necessary that will measure these factors and parse out that which specifically is associated with self-compassion in adolescents.

The Joint Effect of Paternal and Maternal Parenting Behaviors on School Engagement Among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Mastery Goal

The present study aimed to explore the joint effect of paternal and maternal parenting behaviors on adolescent's school engagement, and the mediating role of mastery goal. A total of 2,775 Chinese adolescent participants (55.3% females, mean age = 15.70, SD = 1.57) from two-parent families were recruited in 2014, who rated their perceptions of emotional warmth, behavioral guidance, harsh discipline of their father and mother, as well as their own mastery goal and school engagement. Results showed that paternal and maternal parenting behaviors had interaction effects on school engagement with different interaction patterns. Specifically, the interactions of both parents' emotional warmth and both parents' behavioral guidance displayed strengthening patterns, where one parent's high emotional warmth or behavioral guidance enhanced the positive relationship between the corresponding parenting behavior of the other parent and adolescents' school engagement. By contrast, the interaction of both parents' harsh discipline displayed an interfering pattern, where one parent's high level of harsh discipline reduced the negative relationship between harsh discipline of the other parent and school engagement. Further, all three interaction effects between father and mother on school engagement were mediated by mastery goal. These findings underline the importance of viewing family from a systematic perspective and the benefits of supportive parenting behavior of both parents.

Executive Functioning Mediates Predictions of Youth Academic and Social Development from Parenting Behavior

Using multiple mediation with bootstrapping, dimensions of executive functioning (i.e., inhibitory control, working memory, set shifting) were tested as mediators of predictions of academic and social outcomes from observed positive and negative parenting in 131 children followed prospectively into early adolescence. Inhibitory control and working memory mediated predictions of academic achievement, whereas inhibitory control meditated predictions of school competence from positive parenting. Additionally, working memory mediated predictions of negative social preference, but not social competence, from positive parenting. Executive functioning did not mediate predictions from negative parenting. The role of parenting in shaping youth outcomes through executive functioning is considered.

Parenting Styles and Adolescents' School Adjustment: Investigating the Mediating Role of Achievement Goals within the 2 × 2 Framework

This study examines the multiple mediating roles of achievement goals based on a 2 × 2 framework of the relationships between parenting styles and adolescents' school adjustment. The study sample included 1061 Chinese adolescent students (50.4% girls) between the ages of 12 and 19, who completed questionnaires regarding parenting styles (parental autonomy support and psychological control), achievement goals (mastery approach, mastery avoidance, performance approach, and performance avoidance goals) and school adjustment variables (emotion, students' life satisfaction, school self-esteem, problem behavior, academic achievement, and self-determination in school). A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to test our hypotheses. The results indicated that parental autonomy support was associated with adolescents' school adjustment in an adaptive manner, both directly and through its positive relationship with both mastery and performance approach goals; however, parental psychological control was associated with adolescents' school adjustment in a maladaptive manner, both directly and through its positive relationship with both mastery and performance avoidance goals. In addition, the results indicated that mastery avoidance goals suppressed the relationship between parental autonomy support and adolescents' school adjustment, and performance approach goals suppressed the relationship between this adjustment and parental psychological control. These findings extend the limited literature regarding the 2 × 2 framework of achievement goals and enable us to evidence the mediating and suppressing effects of achievement goals. This study highlights the importance of parenting in adolescents' school adjustment through the cultivation of different achievement goals.

The influence of maternal self-objectification, materialism and parenting style on potentially sexualized 'grown up' behaviours and appearance concerns in 5-8year old girls

There is widespread concern about young girls displaying 'grown up' or sexualized behaviours, as well as experiencing body image and appearance concerns that were previously thought to only impact much older girls. The present study examined the influence of three maternal attributes, self-objectification, materialism and parenting style, on sexualized behaviours and appearance concerns in young girls. A sample of 252 Australian mothers of 5-8year old girls reported on the behaviours and appearance concerns observed in their daughters and also completed measures of their own self-objectification, materialism and parenting style. It was found that a significant proportion of young girls were engaging with 'teen' culture, using beauty products and expressing some degree of appearance concern. Maternal self-objectification was related to daughters' engagement in teen culture, use of beauty products and appearance concern. Maternal materialism was related to girls' engagement in teen culture and appearance concern, while an authoritative parenting style was negatively related to girls' use of beauty products. The findings suggest that maternal self-objectification and materialism play a role in the body image and appearance concerns of young girls, and in so doing, identify these maternal attributes as novel potential targets for intervention.

The role of parenting styles and teacher interactional styles in children's reading and spelling development

This study examined the associations between parenting styles, teacher interactional styles, and children's reading and spelling skills. The sample consisted of 864 Finnish-speaking children and their parents (864 mothers, 864 fathers) and teachers (N=123). Children's risk for reading disabilities and reader status were assessed in kindergarten. Children were also tested on reading and spelling skills in Grades 1 and 2. Parenting styles and teacher interactional styles were measured using parents' and teachers' self-reports in Grade 1. First, the results indicated that both an authoritative parenting style and authoritative teacher interactional style positively predicted children's spelling skill development. Second, authoritative parenting was particularly beneficial for the spelling skill development of children who were at risk for reading disabilities. Third, authoritative teaching promoted spelling skill development particularly among children who were nonreaders in kindergarten but had no risk for reading disabilities. Finally, some evidence was found that authoritative teaching could compensate for the negative impact of nonauthoritative parenting on reading development among kindergarten nonreaders.

Goal orientation and self-efficacy in relation to memory in adulthood

The achievement goal framework (Dweck, 1986, American Psychologist, 41, 1040) has been well-established in children and college-students, but has rarely been examined empirically with older adults. The current study, including younger and older adults, examined the effects of memory self-efficacy, learning goals (focusing on skill mastery over time) and performance goals (focusing on performance outcome evaluations) on memory performance. Questionnaires measured memory self-efficacy and general orientation toward learning and performance goals; free and cued recall was assessed in a subsequent telephone interview. As expected, age was negatively related and education was positively related to memory self-efficacy, and memory self-efficacy was positively related to memory, in a structural equation model. Age was also negatively related to memory performance. Results supported the positive impact of learning goals and the negative impact of performance goals on memory self-efficacy. There was no significant direct effect of learning or performance goals on memory performance; their impact occurred via their effect on memory self-efficacy. The present study supports past research suggesting that learning goals are beneficial, and performance goals are maladaptive, for self-efficacy and learning, and validates the achievement goal framework in a sample including older adults.