The Role of Family Characteristics for Students' Academic Outcomes: A Person-Centered Approach

Interdependent self-construal moderates the relationship between pro-generation investment and future orientation: A cross-cultural comparison

INTRODUCTION

Cultural orientation and interdependent self-construal can moderate the relationship between perceived pro-generation investment and future orientation of young adults. To test how interdependent self-construal moderate the relationship between pro-generation investment and future orientation of young adults from two different cultural ecologies was the aim of the current study.

METHODS

A cross-cultural comparison was conducted among study participants from China, Germany, and the United States. Interdependent self-construal, perceived pro-generation investment by parents (parental investment), and future orientation were measured. Cross-cultural data were collected from 205 college students in China, a collectivist culture, and 169 college students in Germany (n = 50) and the United States (n = 119), which are individualist cultures. We examined a three-way interaction with cultural orientation and interdependent self-construal as moderators in the relationship between perceived parental investment and future orientation.

RESULTS

In the collectivist cultural context, there appeared no moderating effect of interdependent self-construal on the relationship between perceived parental investment and future orientation, although interdependent self-construal and perceived parental investment predicted future orientation. In the individualistic cultural context, there was a moderating effect. For individuals high in interdependent self-construal, future orientation remained stable as perceived parental investment increased. For individuals low in interdependent self-construal, future orientation decreased as perceived parental investment increased.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings have practical implications in that parents should follow the cultural orientation of their background and provide their children with individualized investment and education to shape the future orientation of their offspring.

Co-developmental trajectories of parental involvement: Relations to academic achievement and externalizing and internalizing problems among Chinese elementary schoolchildren

BACKGROUND

Parental involvement is an important multi-faceted factor in children's academic performance and school behaviour. However, most prior studies have involved cross-sectional designs, with few studies exploring the co-developmental nature of various parental involvement characteristics over time and their associations with children's academic achievement, externalizing, and internalizing problems.

AIMS

This study explored (a) co-developmental trajectories of seven parental involvement characteristics in elementary schoolchildren, and (b) relations to children's academic achievement, externalizing, and internalizing problems.

SAMPLE AND METHODS

A total of 3553 Chinese elementary schoolchildren (M_age  = 9.90, SD = .72; 53.9% boys) completed relevant measures on 4 occasions at 6-month intervals. Parallel process latent class growth modelling was used for examining study hypotheses.

RESULTS

Four co-developmental trajectories of parental involvement were identified: 'High motivation and involvement', 'Low motivation and involvement', 'Incongruent motivation and involvement', and 'Incongruent motivation and high involvement'. The highest academic achievement and fewest externalizing and internalizing problems were observed for schoolchildren in the 'High motivation and involvement' class, followed by those who were in the 'Incongruent motivation and high involvement' and 'Incongruent motivation and involvement' classes, and finally, schoolchildren were the 'Low motivation and involvement' class.

CONCLUSIONS

The identification of heterogeneous trajectories with differential outcomes highlights the importance of individual differences considerations in understanding the co-developmental patterns of parental involvement, suggesting that specific interventions need to be formulated for differing groups.

Receipt of Early Intervention Services Before Age 3 Years and Performance on Third-Grade Standardized Tests Among Children Exposed to Lead

IMPORTANCE

Research has shown that early intervention programs can improve academic outcomes of children with developmental delays. It has been suggested that similar programs may combat the deleterious effects of lead on children's neurodevelopment. However, to our knowledge, there are no published studies examining this possibility.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to estimate the association between receipt of early intervention services and third-grade standardized test scores among children exposed to lead before age 3 years.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Cohort study including children born in New York City, New York, from 1994 to 1998 within an administrative data linkage of birth, lead monitoring, early intervention, and education data systems. Participants had a blood lead level of 4 μg/dL or greater at any point before age 3 years and later attended public school in New York City.

EXPOSURES

Any use of early intervention services from birth through age 3 years.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Children who did or did not receive early intervention services were matched using propensity scores. Linear and log-binomial regression were used to estimate the association between receipt of early intervention services before age 3 years and standardized test scores in math and English-language arts in third grade.

RESULTS

There were 2986 children exposed to lead who received early intervention services before age 36 months. Of these children, 2757 were propensity score-matched to 8160 children who did not receive services. Children who received early intervention services did 7% (95% CI, 3%-12%) of an SD better on math and 10% (95% CI, 5%-14%) of an SD better on English-language arts tests than children who did not receive services. In addition, children who received services were 14% (95% CI, 9%-19%) and 16% (95% CI, 9%-23%) more likely to meet test-based standards in math and English-language arts, respectively, than children who did not receive services. These associations became larger in magnitude when analyses were restricted to children with higher blood lead levels.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

By leveraging existing public health data, this study found evidence that receipt of early intervention services may benefit the academic performance of children exposed to lead early in life.

Academic Achievement, Self-Concept, Personality and Emotional Intelligence in Primary Education. Analysis by Gender and Cultural Group

A review of the scientific literature shows that many studies have analyzed the relationship between academic achievement and different psychological constructs, such as self-concept, personality, and emotional intelligence. The present work has two main objectives. First, to analyze the academic achievement, as well as the self-concept, personality and emotional intelligence, according to gender and cultural origin of the participants (European vs. Amazigh). Secondly, to identify what dimensions of self-concept, personality and emotional intelligence predict academic achievement. For this, a final sample consisting of 407 students enrolled in the last 2 years of Primary Education were utilized for the study. By gender, 192 were boys (47.2%) and 215 girls (52.8%), with an average age of 10.74 years old. By cultural group, 142 were of European origin (34.9%) and 265 of Amazigh origin (65.1%). The academic achievements were evaluated from the grades obtained in three school subjects: Natural Sciences, Spanish Language and Literature, and Mathematics, and the instruments used for data collection of the psychological constructs analyzed were the Self-Concept Test-Form 5, the Short-Form Big Five Questionnaire for Children, and the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version-Short. Based on the objectives set, first, the grades in the subject of Spanish Language and Literature varied depending on the gender of the students. Likewise, differences were found in self-concept, personality, and emotional intelligence according to gender. Also, the physical self-concept varied according to the cultural group. Regarding the second objective, in the predictive analysis for each of the subjects of the curriculum of Primary Education, the academic self-concept showed a greater predictive value. However, so did other dimensions of self-concept, personality and emotional intelligence. The need to carry out a comprehensive education in schools that addresses the promotion of not only academic but also personal and social competences is discussed. Also, that the study of the variables that affect gender differences must be deepened.