Advancing the Understanding of Parenting and Adolescents’ Academic Achievement in a Self-Determination Perspective: A Mediation Analysis

Abstract

Parenting is considered to be one of the most influential factors that determine academic outcomes in adolescents. This is especially true in Asia where collective culture predominates. That said, the study of core parenting dimensions in Hong Kong (HK) remains an under-explored area possibly because HK as a small city has a high preponderance of high achievers. With the emergence of ‘helicopter parenting’ a term used to describe parents who micromanage their children’s lives in an age inappropriate mannerism, the composition of parenting may be manifested differently in the 21st century. Regardless of all the changes in our contemporary society, parenting styles have been examined with a configurational approach for decades and are understood along two bipolar dimensions: responsiveness and demandingness. Addressing the theoretical and methodological limitations of such an approach, this study examines the core dimensions of parenting with an orthogonal approach – parenting as a multidimensional construct. Conceptualising the autonomous motivational framework of the Self-Determination Theory as the theoretical framework of the current study, this research develops a theory-driven model to examine the bidirectional aspects in parent-adolescent relationships. An initial validation study (n=391) is conducted to establish the validity and reliability of understanding the core dimensions and factor structure of the contemporary parenting styles. The main study (n=976) looks into the bidirectional relationships through examining the adolescents’ motivational beliefs and basic psychological needs through path analysis. The findings confirm a 7-factor model that contributes to the understanding of present-day parenting in Hong Kong and allows researchers for profiling different parenting dimensions. This 7-factor model with parental warmth as the most powerful dimension that impacts directly on adolescents’ academic achievement whereas intrinsic motivation (to know and to accomplish) and competence satisfaction are strong mediators in the model. Results from the moderated mediation analysis indicate that when adolescents’ needs satisfaction is low, the indirect effect of parental warmth on academic achievement through intrinsic motivation is stronger whereas when such needs is stronger, the indirect effect goes weaker. The study addresses a significant research gap by shining a light on the true nature of parenting and investigating the mediating effects of the powerful psychological mechanism in function and informs interventional studies for informed practice.

Date of Award	13 Jul 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Wing Hong CHUI (Supervisor)