Academic Socialization: Understanding Parental Influences on Children's School-Related Development in the Early Years.

This review summarizes the research literature on the academic socialization of children within the family context. A conceptual model is introduced that describes the process of academic socialization, including parental experiences in school, parental school-related cognitions, and specific parenting behaviors. Parental attitudes and practices provide the foundation for children's development of schemas about school performance and thus are critical determinants of children's early school experiences. In addition, recent efforts to understand the role of transition practices aimed at facilitating children's early adjustment in school are described. The present review extends the transition practices literature by providing a developmental perspective on parenting influences on children's academic socialization, within an ecological systems perspective. The authors describe academic socialization as a process that occurs under the broad umbrella of socioeconomic and cultural contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' motivations for involvement in children's education: An empirical test of a theoretical model of parental involvement.

This study examined the ability of a theoretical model to predict types and levels of parental involvement during the elementary and middle school years. Predictor variables included parents' motivational beliefs about involvement, perceptions of invitations to involvement from others, and perceived life context variables. Analyses of responses from 853 parents of 1st- through 6th-grade students enrolled in an ethnically diverse metropolitan public school system in the mid-southern United States revealed that model constructs predicted significant portions of variance in parents' home- and school-based involvement even when controlling for family socioeconomic status. The predictive power of specific model constructs differed for elementary and middle school parents. Results are discussed in terms of research on parental involvement and school practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Devaluing domains in response to threatening intergroup comparisons: Perceived legitimacy and the status value asymmetry.

Group status and status legitimacy were tested as moderators of devaluing in response to threatening intergroup comparisons. In 3 experiments, participants received feedback comparing their in-group (based on school or gender) to a higher or lower status out-group. When the legitimacy of group status differences was assumed (Studies 1 and 2) or manipulated (Study 3), participants devalued the domain when their in-group compared unfavorably with a lower status out-group but did not devalue the domain when their in-group compared unfavorably with a higher status out-group. In Study 3, this status value asymmetry was eliminated when status differences were delegitimized. Mediational analyses suggested that the status value asymmetry was explained by the perceived utility of the domain for gaining status-relevant rewards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental involvement in middle school: A meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement.

Early adolescence is often marked by changes in school context, family relationships, and developmental processes. In the context of these changes, academic performance often declines, while at the same time the long-term implications of academic performance increase. In promoting achievement across elementary and secondary school levels, the significant role of families, family–school relations, and parental involvement in education has been highlighted. Although there is a growing body of literature focusing on parental involvement in education during middle school, this research has not been systematically examined to determine which types of involvement have the strongest relation with achievement. The authors conducted a meta-analysis on the existing research on parental involvement in middle school to determine whether and which types of parental involvement are related to achievement. Across 50 studies, parental involvement was positively associated with achievement, with the exception of parental help with homework. Involvement that reflected academic socialization had the strongest positive association with achievement. Based on the known characteristics of the developmental stage and tasks of adolescence, strategies reflecting academic socialization are most consistent with the developmental stage of early adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of individual and family factors to the psychological well-being of junior high school students living in urban poverty

This study examined the contribution of individual and family factors to psychological adjustment in a sample of junior high school students living in urban poverty. Identity development and perceived parental treatment were hypothesized to serve as mediating, or protective, factors between economic hardship and levels of self-esteem, depression, and loneliness. Consistent with the hypotheses, identity development did serve as a mediator between poverty and psychological adjustment. While perceived parental treatment was not related to economic hardship, it was clearly associated with well-being in this sample. Findings are discussed in terms of the differing contributions of family and individual development, as well as the importance of mediators in assessing the effects of poverty on young adolescents.     

Other centeredness and susceptibility to charitable appeals: Effects of perceived discipline.

Examined children's perceptions of induction and power assertion in maternal socialization practices in relationship to 4 facets of social concern or other-centeredness. 164 Ss from the 5th and 8th grades of a Catholic school participated. Perceived induction was positively correlated with reported importance of other-centered values, mature understanding of the meaning of kindness, and peer ratings of kindness and consideration. Perceived power assertion correlated negatively with perceived induction, but independently it has questionable value in the prediction of other-centeredness. Donations elicited under varying appeals were used as a behavioral measure of other-centeredness. Donations were more generous when the appeal was consistent with perceived socialization style. Ss with higher perceived induction were more generous under neutral and inductive appeal conditions but not under power-assertive appeals. Younger Ss gave more in the power appeal, while older Ss' donations increased with an inductive appeal. Implications for child rearing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial identity, racial attitudes, and race socialization among Black Canadian parents.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the influence of racial identity on the socialization strategies used by Black parents to deal with issues of racism and discrimination. The Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI) was used to capture the complexity of Black identity and to provide a framework for the study of the socialization process. Ninety-one Black Canadian parents responded to measures of racial identity (e.g., identity centrality, racial ideologies), racial appraisals (e.g., concern for stereotyping), and socialization practices (e.g., preparation for bias). Racial identity measures were hypothesised to predict racial appraisals and socialization behaviours, while racial appraisals were expected to predict socialization behaviours. Furthermore, racial salience was expected to moderate the relationship between racial ideologies (e.g., nationalist ideology) and socialization behaviours. Although this latter hypothesis was not supported, the Sellers model did provide a useful theoretical framework for understanding the socialization practices of Black Canadian parents. Parents were more likely to socialize their children when they endorsed a humanist ideology and when they perceived their children as being likely targets of stereotyping and discrimination. These findings underscore the need for multidimensional measures of identity to obtain a more complete picture of the socialization process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal multilevel models of the big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept: Counterbalancing contrast and reflected-glory effects in Hong Kong schools.

Longitudinal multilevel path models (7,997 students, 44 high schools, 4 years) evaluated effects of school-average achievement and perceived school status on academic self-concept in Hong Kong, which has a collectivist culture with a highly achievement-segregated high school system. Consistent with a priori predictions based on the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), higher school-average achievements led to lower academic self-concepts (contrast effect), whereas higher perceived school status had a counterbalancing positive effect on self-concept (reflected-glory, assimilation effect). The negative BFLPE is the net effect of counterbalancing influences, stronger negative contrast effects, and weaker positive assimilation effects so that controlling perceived school status led to purer—and even more negative— contrast effects. Attending a school where school-average achievement is high simultaneously resulted in a more demanding basis of comparison for one's own accomplishments (the stronger negative contrast effect) and a source of pride (the weaker positive assimilation effect), (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent prosocial behavior: Peer-group and situational factors associated with helping.

90 8th graders were rated by peers on sociometric dimensions of helpful and popular (and their converses) and were each observed or rated on 6 helping tasks in the school setting that differed in terms of perceived demand characteristics. In general, sociometric nominations were accurate in predicting who was not behaviorally helpful—those Ss rated as the unpopular and unhelpful. Sociometric status of Ss rated more positively by peers did not predict well the level of behavioral performance. To examine the interaction between peer-group status and helping behavior, the most helpful Ss were divided into 2 groups on the basis of peer status. There were significant differences in the types of situations in which these 2 groups performed: More popular helpers scored higher on peer-related helping tasks, whereas less popular helpers were more facilitative in non-peer-related helping tasks. Implications for individual socialization and future research in helping behavior are discussed in relation to peer-group status. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between ego identity statuses and decision-making styles.

We examined the proposition that individual variations in career decision making are related conceptually to the identity formation process of late adolescence. To investigate this proposition 2 studies were conducted to identify the relations between ego identity statuses and decision-making styles. The findings suggested that persons who have achieved a stable identity tend to use rational and systematic decision-making strategies. Those whose identity status is foreclosed tend to rely on dependent strategies and do not endorse systematic and internal strategies. Persons in the diffusion status tend to rely on intuitive and dependent styles or exhibit an absence of systematic and internal styles. The moratorium status was not consistently associated with variations in decision-making styles. We relate the results to previous theory and to implications for practice and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professionalism within school psychology.

Seven attributes of professionalism are examined in light of school psychology: a profession's activities, self-regulation, professional preparation programs, socialization, status, rewards and recognition, and professional practice within organizations. More programs may be needed at the doctoral level. National organizations should become more involved at the state and regional levels. Professional status and identity are affected by esoteric knowledge, difficulty in obtaining an education, the centrality of school psychology within education and psychology, client qualities, and low salaries. Psychological services should be institutionalized in schools. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting union attitudes in student part-time workers.

Examined the predictors of general union attitudes in a sample of 84 high school and 42 first year university students (aged 15–21 yrs) who were employed part-time. In addition to two aspects of family socialization towards unions (parents' perceived union attitudes and perceived union activities), Ss' job quality and satisfaction with both co-workers and supervisors were also assessed as predictors of their own general union attitudes. Results show that only Ss' perception of their parents' general union attitudes was significantly associated with their own general union attitudes. Thus, family socialization contributed the greatest amount of variance to general union attitudes. Neither job quality, nor supervisory or co-worker satisfaction were associated with Ss' union attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergroup helping as status relations: Effects of status stability, identification, and type of help on receptivity to high-status group's help.

Integrating research on social identity processes and helping relations, the authors proposed that low-status group members who are high identifiers will be unwilling to receive help from the high-status group when status relations are perceived as unstable and help is dependency-oriented. The first experiment, a minimal group experiment, found negative reactions to help from a high-status outgroup when status relations were unstable. The 2nd and 3rd experiments, which used real groups of Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews, replicated this finding and showed that high identifiers were less receptive to help from the high-status outgroup than low identifiers. The 4th experiment, a help-seeking experiment with real groups of competing high schools, found that the least amount of help was sought from a high-status group by high identifiers when status relations were perceived as unstable and help was dependency-oriented. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pathways from child sexual abuse to adult depression: The role of parental socialization of emotions and alexithymia.

Objective: Depression is common among adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA), but the intervening processes responsible for this outcome have not yet been fully delineated. The present study investigated the mediating role of perceived parental emotion socialization and alexithymia (difficulties identifying and describing feelings) in explaining the link between CSA and adult depressive symptoms in female veterans. Method: Cross-sectional data were collected from 110 female veterans who completed self-report questionnaires measuring demographics, sexual victimization history, perceived parental emotion socialization, and current symptoms of alexithymia and depression. Results: Linear regression analyses showed that CSA predicted greater depression, which was partly accounted for by alexithymia. Less positive socialization practices by both parents fully mediated the relationship between CSA and alexithymia. When these factors were examined together in a path model, greater CSA severity predicted perceptions of fewer positive socialization practices by mothers, which, in turn, was associated with greater alexithymia and depression. Conclusions: Perceptions of early positive emotion socialization and current alexithymia may contribute to experience of depression among sexually victimized female veterans. Interventions aimed at targeting emotion regulation skills and perceptions associated with other salient childhood experiences such as emotion socialization by parents could help reduce adult depression among CSA survivors. Furthermore, encouraging positive parenting practices for caregivers of abused children could allay subsequent affective symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of early high school dropout: A test of five theories.

This study compared the adequacy of 5 theories to predict dropping out of high school before the 10th grade. These theories include full mediation by academic achievement and direct effects related to general deviance, deviant affiliation, family socialization, and structural strains. Nested latent variable models were used to test these theories on prospective data from an ethnically diverse urban sample. Poor academic achievement mediated the effect of all independent factors on school dropout, although general deviance, bonding to antisocial peers, and socioeconomic status also retained direct effects on dropping out. Therefore, none of the theories tested was fully adequate to explain the data, although partial support was obtained for each theory. Implications for prevention of early high school dropout are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal analysis of the role of perceived self-efficacy for self-regulated learning in academic continuance and achievement.

The present study examined the developmental course of perceived efficacy for self-regulated learning and its contribution to academic achievement and likelihood of remaining in school in a sample of 412 Italian students (48% males and 52% females ranging in age from 12 to 22 years). Latent growth curve analysis revealed a progressive decline in self-regulatory efficacy from junior to senior high school, with males experiencing the greater reduction. The lower the decline in self-regulatory efficacy, the higher the high school grades and the greater the likelihood of remaining in high school controlling for socioeconomic status. Reciprocal cross-lagged models revealed that high perceived efficacy for self-regulated learning in junior high school contributed to junior high school grades and self-regulatory efficacy in high school, which partially mediated the relation of junior high grades on high school grades and the likelihood of remaining in school. Socioeconomic status contributed to high school grades only mediationally through junior high grades and to school drop out both directly and mediationally through junior high grades. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in functions of three relations during adolescence.

Three functions of interpersonal relations (attempt at behavior control, intimacy, and nurture) were assessed in friendship, mother–child, and father–child relations of adolescents to examine age, relational, sex, and mother–father differences. 60 female and 60 male 4th, 7th, and 10th graders and undergraduates rated 8 statements that portrayed interpersonal interactions for each relationship to indicate how closely the statements described Ss' actual interpersonal relations. Parents exerted greater control than friends across grades. Intimacy in friendship was lower than in parent–child relations at 4th grade, but it surpassed the parent level by 10th grade. Nurturance remained relatively consistent and high across grades for parents, whereas it increased with increasing age of adolescents in friendship. Female friendship involved higher intimacy than male friendship. Only males perceived fathers to be more nurturant than mothers. Results are interpreted in terms of their consistency with the Piagetian/relational framework of social development and their implications for research concerning parental and peer conformity in adolescent socialization. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early childhood socialization in Hispanic families: Context, culture, and practice implications.

Research on early childhood socialization suggests that Hispanic parents differ from parents of other ethnic groups in their child rearing values and the interpersonal behavior they want their children to display at home and school. In this article, the influence of context and culture on child rearing is shown through a review of conceptual frameworks for understanding child socialization in both minority and nonminority families and research on infant–mother attachment and parental beliefs about young children's behavior. This review indicates that parent and child behaviors are a result of different socialization processes that encompass specific cultural values. Implications for professional practice are drawn for child assessment and psychotherapy, family therapy, and parenting skills programs conducted with Hispanics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family roots of empathy-related characteristics: The role of perceived maternal and paternal need support in adolescence.

Theories on empathy development have stressed the role of socialization in general and the role of parental support in particular. This 3-wave longitudinal study of middle adolescents (N = 678) aimed to contribute to the extant research on the socialization of empathy (a) by examining the relative contribution of perceived maternal and paternal need supportive parenting on over-time changes in adolescents' emotional and cognitive aspects of empathy (i.e., empathic concern and perspective taking, respectively) and (b) by considering the possibility of reciprocal relations between perceived parenting and adolescent empathy. Whereas paternal need support consistently predicted over-time changes in perspective taking in both sons and daughters, perceived maternal need support predicted changes in empathic concern among daughters only. In addition, although less consistently so, empathy dimensions also predicted over-time changes in perceived parenting. Results are discussed in terms of the nature of empathy and in the light of domain-specific effects of each parent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)