Future expectations of senior high schoolers in Romania

Individual and familial factors predict formation and improvement of adolescents' academic expectations: A longitudinal study in Sweden

Background

Adolescents’ high academic expectations predict future health and successful societal integration. Yet, little is known about which factors may promote adolescents’ expectations of their future education and academic achievement.

Aims

To explore whether potentially modifiable factors such as parents’ engagement and expectations regarding their child’s education; or student individual factors such as school engagement, academic achievement, sense of identity, and positive mental health predict positive development of academic expectations in early adolescence.

Methods

A longitudinal study of 3,203 adolescents and their parents was conducted with information collected between 7^th grade (13 years of age) and 9^th grade (16 years of age). Parental and adolescents’ own academic expectations and engagement in school, academic achievement, identity synthesis, and mental health were self-reported in annual questionnaires. We used logistic regression to analyze the associations between the aforementioned factors and two binary outcomes related to changes in expectations from 7^th to 9^th grade: A. resolved uncertainty regarding own academic expectations; B. raised academic expectations.

Results

Student engagement, and higher academic grades predicted both resolved uncertainty in expectations and raised academic expectations. Higher parental involvement in education was related to resolved uncertainty, while high parental expectations were related to raised student expectations. Identity synthesis and mental health did not appear to predict either outcome.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that a supportive parental attitude concerning their child’s education during adolescence, student engagement, and positive progressions in academic achievements may contribute to a positive development of academic expectations, thus to positive educational trajectories.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and future expectations in Russian adolescents

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the role of future expectations-the extent to which a future outcome is deemed likely-in the health and well-being of adolescents, with research linking future expectations to outcomes such as an increased likelihood of engaging in risky health behaviors. As yet, however, there has been no research on future expectations and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adolescence. To address this research gap, the current study examined the association between ADHD symptoms/possible ADHD status and future expectations in a school-based sample of adolescents. Data were analyzed from 537 Russian adolescents (aged 12-17) with teacher-reported ADHD symptoms and self-reported future expectations. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations. In fully adjusted analyses, inattention symptoms/possible ADHD inattentive status was associated with lower future educational expectations, while a possible ADHD hyperactivity status was associated with increased odds for negative future expectations relating to work, family and succeeding in what is most important. The findings of this study suggest that greater ADHD symptoms/possible ADHD status in adolescence may be linked to an increased risk for negative future expectations across a variety of different life domains.