Research shows that maternal education influences children's academic performance indirectly through the quality of the home environment. In this study, we tested the role of 12 variables within the home environment (e.g., eating meals together, reading for fun at home, number of children's books, watching TV, and bedtime) to help identify those…

In a previous study, parent-child praise was observed in natural interactions at home when children were 1, 2, and 3 years of age. Children who received a relatively high proportion of process praise (e.g., praise for effort and strategies) showed stronger incremental motivational frameworks, including a belief that intelligence can be developed…

This study asserts a theoretical model of academic and work socialization within the family setting. The presumed associations between parents' work valences, children's work valences and valence perceptions, and children's academic interest and achievement are tested. The results suggest that children's perceptions of parents mediate the…

High-quality social relationships are important for students' academic motivation and achievement. However, the specific pathways through which social relationships influence motivation, learning, and achievement are still unclear. Guided by Anderman's (in: Urdan (ed.), "Advances in motivation and achievement, vol. 11: the role of contextual…

The present study investigated the relative importance of executive functioning, parent-child verbal interactions, phonological awareness and visual skills on reading and mathematics for Chinese children from low-versus middle-socio economic status (SES) backgrounds. A total of 199 kindergarten children were assessed on executive functioning,…

In recent research on psychologically controlling parenting, debate has arisen about the cross-cultural relevance of this construct, with some scholars arguing that the developmental outcomes of psychological control are culture-bound and others arguing that the detrimental effects of psychological control generalize across cultures. This study…

Informed by achievement goal orientation and self-determination theories, we explored the role of cultural/contextual factors on Korean students' achievement motivation. Specifically, we examined the role of the Korean middle school students' family orientation as a mediator between their perceptions of parent goals or motivating styles and their…

In this project, 72 middle school students responded to a questionnaire tapping three aspects of perfectionism: self-striving, socially-prescribed perfectionism, and concern for mistakes. Their mothers completed a questionnaire assessing goal expression along three dimensions defined as direct expectations (e.g., "I set high standards for my…

This study examined factors related to social competence in first-grade children of low-income, adolescent mothers. Findings indicated that higher social skills and lower levels of problem behaviors related to higher quality parenting, higher academic skills, and residence in neighborhoods with lower poverty rates. Children with higher social…

Associations among three dimensions of parenting (support, behavioral control, psychological control) and measures of adolescent depression, delinquency, and academic achievement were assessed in a sample of African American youth. All data were adolescent self-reports by way of school-administered questionnaires in random samples of classrooms in…

This study investigates the effect of family obligations and part-time work on Latina adolescents' stress and academic achievement during the transition to college. One hundred seventeen Latina college students from immigrant families completed surveys assessing the mother-daughter relationship, family obligations, work-school conflict, school and…

Traced links among family financial resource adequacy, maternal beliefs and behavior, developmental goals, and child outcomes in rural, single-parent African American families of 6- to 9-year-olds. Found that financial adequacy was linked with childrearing efficacy. Efficacy beliefs were linked with parenting practices indirectly through…

This study examines differences in the academic achievement of Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Central/South Americans, and the relationship of those differences to the time spent on homework, educational-occupational aspirations, and background. The following parental factors are examined: (1) the press for English; (2) the press for independence; (3)…