Parenting Behaviors: Their Relationship to Children's Perceived Social Support and Academic Achievement

John Perez, Pace University

Abstract

There is always concern about children's academic achievement. This is evident in the legislation and mandates that are passed, and in the conversations among school administrators, teachers, and parents. Policy makers and educators often focus most of their attention on children's academic achievement. With research showing that many educational gaps become evident when children first start school, programs designed to decrease these gaps should start early. Because parents are children's first teachers, and typically are the first ones to speak to, model for, and socialize them, the role of the parent-child relationship has been a focus for many researchers. Social support has been another variable that has been considered with regard to potential impact on child development. The overall purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the frequency of parenting behaviors, children's perceived social support, and academic achievement as measured by New York State Math and English Language Arts tests. For the purpose of this study, the Parent Behavior Frequency Questionaire-Revised (PBFQ-R) was used to obtain information regarding parenting behaviors, the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS) was used to obtain measures of perceived social support in the students, and New York State achievement results for children in the 3^rd grade were used. Results from this study did not yield results consistent with previous research. The relationship between parenting behaviors and academic outcomes, specifically math, was found to be related to perceived social support. That is, those students who reported low social support, and had parents who endorsed low levels of bonding, education, sensitivity, and responsivity, demonstrated higher achievement scores compared to those students whose parents reported higher levels on the same subscales. These results and others are examined and discussed as they relate to prior research. Implications for future exploration also is examined. ^

Subject Area

Education, Educational Psychology|Psychology, Developmental

Recommended Citation

Perez, John, "Parenting Behaviors: Their Relationship to Children's Perceived Social Support and Academic Achievement" (2012). ETD Collection for Pace University. AAI3521154.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI3521154

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