Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of self-esteem and some parental dimensions (behavioral control, psychological control and emotionality of mothers and fathers) to children’s academic achievement. Also, we wanted to examine the mediating effect of children’s self-esteem on the relationship between these parental dimensions and academic achievement.

Method: The research was conducted on the sample of 102 schoolchildren aged 12 to 15 years (66 girls and 36 boys). Children self-esteem was measured with Coopersmith’s Self-esteem Inventory - SEI (adapted by Lackovic-Grgin and Bezinovic, 2002). Parental dimensions of behavioral and psychological control and emotionality were assessed with Children Report of Parental Behavior Inventory – CRPBI – 57 (Keresteš, 1999). Children’s average final grade at the end of past midterm was used as a measure of their academic achievement. 

Results: The regression analysis shows that mother’s psychological control and children’s self – esteem significantly contribute to academic achievement. Baron and Kenny (1976) procedure was used to examine the mediating impact of children’s self-esteem on the relationship between parental dimensions and academic achievement. The results revealed that children self-esteem indeed mediate this relationship.

Conclusions: Higher academic achievement was positively associated with self – esteem and negatively with mother’s psychological control. Children’s self – esteem mediated the relationship between dimensions of parenthood and children school success.

 

Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, Croatia

 

Objective: A great deal of literature examined the effects of parenting on children’s development, including academic achievement, psychosocial development, behavior problems, and psychological symptoms. There is a need to study families with children so that parents better understand their children development in light of their own parenting practices and fully realize the implications of these practices on their children current and future academic success (Tiller et al., 2002). Many research shows that low self-esteem is linked to different problems in school age children because they have the tendency to underestimate themselves and attribute their failures to own incompetence. Also, positive relationships between children and their parents have significant influence on the image that a child creates of himself or herself. Contemporary researches show that self-esteem is developing through life, and family has important role in that process, especially in early adolescence. During the early childhood, self-esteem is relatively high, while on transition to early adolescence status change and the positive self-esteem decreases and does not stabilize until high school age (according to Vasta, Haith and Miller, 1992). The family has important role in that time and the research of Aken et al. (1996; according to Brajsa-Zganec et. al, 2000) shows that children without enough support from their parents have higher risk to develop low self-esteem. General self-esteem is linked with school achievement, in other words it affect motivation for success (DuBois et al., 1992). In the light of these findings, the aim of this study was to determine the contribution of self-esteem and some parental dimensions (behavioral control, psychological control and emotionality of mothers and fathers) to children’s academic achievement. Also, we wanted to examine the mediating effect of children’s self-esteem on the relationship between these parental dimensions and academic achievement.  

Method: The research was conducted on the sample of 102 children enrolled in seventh and eighth grades in primary school in Zadar, Croatia. Their average age was 13 (M=13.44, sd=0.65). The participants completed the questionnaire during a regularly scheduled classroom. Children self-esteem was measured with Self-esteem Inventory - SEI (adapted by Lackovic-Grgin and Bezinovic, 2002). This questionnaire is a short version of Coopersmith’ questionnaire SEI from 1967, and includes 25 items. Parental dimensions of behavioral and psychological control and emotionality were assessed with 57-item version of Children Report of Parental Behavior Inventory – CRPBI – 57 (Keresteš, 1999). Emotionality conceptualizations refer to a common set of parenting characteristics, including parental support, expressions of warmth or positive emotional tone, sensitivity to children’s psychological states and responsivity to children psychosocial needs. Behavioral control consist of multiple dimensions of parental behavior, characterized by communication of a set of rules, enforcement of the rules, monitoring, and supervision of children’s whereabouts, and the use of inductive discipline techniques that stress of consequences of children’s actions on others (Barber, 1996). Psychological control is defined as patterns of controlling the child by negatively manipulating the parent-child relationship (Barber, 1996; Barber et al., 1994). Psychological control consists of parenting strategies that inhibit the psychological development through manipulation and exploitation of the parent-child bond (e.g. love withdrawal and guilt induction), expression of negative affect and criticism (e.g. shame and guilt) and excessive personal control (e.g. possessiveness, protectiveness) (Barber, 1996). Children’s average final grade at the end of past midterm was used as a measure of their academic achievement. 

Results: The regression analysis shows that mother’s psychological control and children’s self – esteem significantly contribute to academic achievement. Baron and Kenny (1986) procedure was used to examine the mediating impact of children’s self-esteem on the relationship between parental dimensions and academic achievement. The results revealed that children self-esteem indeed mediate this relationship: higher levels of mother’s psychological control and lower levels of father’s emotionality were associated with low self-esteem of their children, which in turn was negatively correlated to academic success.

Conclusions: Higher academic achievement was positively associated with self – esteem and negatively with mother’s psychological control. Children’s self – esteem mediated the relationship between dimensions of parenthood and children school success. These results indicate that different aspects of parental dimensions make significant contribution to global self-esteem of children and their academic achievement.