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Parenting Styles and Academic Achievement

HDFS333 Honors Project

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Lauren Attner

Jessica Baird

Kristen Keane

Samantha Schneider

Kathryn Schuetz�Cara Weinstein

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Research Question

Does parenting style affect academic achievement?

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First Method: Survey

  • 223 college students (83% female, 17% male)
  • Questions:
    • Basic information (gender, age, hometown, etc.)
    • What is your current GPA?
    • Please indicate the level of strictness your parents/guardians demonstrated while you were growing up in the following areas: academics, sports, alcohol use, other substance use, curfew, extracurriculars, driving, cursing
    • Asked about parenting style before college and analyzed academic achievement in college

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Basic Information

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Basic Information

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Basic Information

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Basic Information

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Basic Information

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How Did We Measure Parenting Style?

  • Strictness was the variable
  • Asked to indicate the level of strictness their parents/guardians demonstrated while they were growing up in the following areas: academics, sports, alcohol use, other substance use, curfew, extracurriculars, driving, cursing
  • Answer options: very lenient, somewhat lenient, somewhat strict, very strict
    • very lenient= 1, somewhat lenient= 2, somewhat strict= 3, very strict= 4
  • Calculated the average of parents’ strictness for every participant and analyzed the information according to GPA category

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Average of Strictness: Results

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Average of Strictness: Results

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Average of Strictness: Results

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Average of Strictness: Results

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Interpretation and Limitations of Results

  • Interpretation
    • no clear patterns
  • Limitations
    • mostly female
    • mostly caucasian
    • mostly GPA 3.5-4.0
    • mostly middle SES
    • mostly ages 20-21

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Second Method: Interview

  • 4 interviewees; 1 male and 3 females
    • 2 Authoritative
    • 1 Authoritarian
    • 1 Permissive
  • Questions:
    • Demographic Questions: age, ethnicity, gender, SES, hometown
    • Description of Parents and Siblings
    • Academic success
      • GPA
      • Predicted grades in moderately difficult college courses in varying subjects
    • Involvement and Leadership
    • A series of questions based on each of the four parenting styles helped us determine that of the interviewee’s parents.

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Interview: Authoritative Parenting Style

  • Demographics
    • 1 male and 1 female
    • Caucasian; middle class; 18-20 years old
  • Family
    • Describe good relationships with supportive parents
    • 1+ siblings
    • Not the first in the family to attend college
  • Academic Success
    • GPA of 3.5+, and currently enrolled in 4 year colleges
    • Would expect between an A or a B in moderately difficult Science, History, English/Writing, and Math college courses.
    • Sometimes experience anxiety from school; never resorted to drug/alcohol use
  • Involvement and Leadership
    • Heavily involved in extracurricular activities
    • Seek or hold leadership positions

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Interview: Authoritarian Parenting Style

  • Demographics
    • Female, Pakistani American, middle class, 21 years old
  • Family
    • Strict relationships with parents with a lot of tension, but also loving
    • 1 siblings
    • Not the first in the family to attend college
  • Academic Success
    • GPA of about 3.5 when she was enrolled in college for 2 years
    • Would expect between an A or a B in moderately difficult Science, History, English/Writing, and Math college courses.
    • Experiences anxiety from even thinking about school, has resorted to drugs/alcohol to relieve stress
  • Involvement and Leadership
    • Not involved in extracurricular activities

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Interview: Permissive Parenting Style

  • Demographics
    • Female, caucasian, middle class, 19 years old
  • Family
    • Close relationships with her mother, while not close with her father
    • 2 siblings
    • Not the first in the family to attend college
  • Academic Success
    • Currently in cosmetology school, parents don’t support her decision but are still paying for it
    • Would expect a C in moderately difficult Science, History, English/Writing, and Math college courses.
    • Experiences anxiety from school, has resorted to drugs/alcohol to relieve stress
  • Involvement and Leadership
    • Involved in figure skating and church

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Parenting Styles

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Research

Previous studies have found links between parenting-styles and academic achievement:

  • Authoritative parenting styles significantly predicted academic performance of college students
    • there was no relationship for permissive and authoritarian parenting styles

Culture and type of parenting style play a role:

  • Academic achievement is positively related to general authoritativeness in the United States and Australia, but not in Hong Kong.
    • However, in Hong Kong general authoritarianisms is positively related to academic achievement (also related for asian americans)
  • In all 3 cultures academic achievement was negatively related to academic authoritarianism and had no relationship with academic authoritativeness

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Research

Children of authoritative parents

  • most academically motivated
  • most socially and cognitively competent
  • most achievement oriented
  • highest in math and verbal achievement

Children of uninvolved/neglectful parents

  • least academically motivated
  • least socially and cognitively competent
  • least achievement oriented
  • lowest in math and verbal achievement

Children of authoritarian and permissive parents showed

no significant results

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Research

  • We read two articles that stated no correlation between parenting styles and academic achievement/ GPA
  • While results generally favor a correlation, there are some studies that suggest against it

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What We Learned

  • Interviews are much more effective than surveys (in terms of details)
    • Surveys are easier for reaching a larger sample
  • There is no relationship between academic achievement and authoritarian and permissive parenting styles
    • based on our own findings and other research
  • There are a lot of variables/factors that we did not take into consideration

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What Surprised Us

  • No pattern in the survey data
    • especially since research suggests there is a correlation
  • Overwhelming number of responses to the survey
  • Children of authoritarian parents are not shown to have high academic achievement
  • There are many other variables that affect academic achievement

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What We Would Change for Future Research

  • Get a more diverse sample with ethnicity, SES, and GPA
  • Include more questions to determine parenting style
  • Distinguish between general and academic authoritative/authoritarian
  • Also analyze cultural factors, extracurricular involvement, birth order, etc.
  • Stray away from survey and incorporate longer interviews instead
    • Also interview parents and siblings
    • Select a more random group of interviewees

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References

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu/91/1/146.pdf

http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-4/parenting.htm/

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/csd/summary/v050/50.3.turner.html

http://www.jstor.org/stable/23093664?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

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