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Parenting in Relation to School Dropout Through Student Engagement: A Longitudinal Study
Author(s) -
Blondal Kristjana S.,
Adalbjarnardottir Sigrun
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/jomf.12125
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , longitudinal study , school dropout , autonomy , student engagement , icelandic , dropout (neural networks) , parenting styles , structural equation modeling , social psychology , pedagogy , medicine , sociology , linguistics , philosophy , pathology , machine learning , socioeconomics , political science , computer science , law , statistics , mathematics
Dropping out of school generally has negative consequences for both individuals and society, and the decision to do so has been described as a crucial developmental task of adolescence. This longitudinal study examined the contribution of parenting practices to students' completion of upper secondary school through their school engagement. Icelandic youth ( N = 835, 54% female) were followed from age 14 to 22. Analyses using structural equation modeling revealed that adolescents (age 14) with more authoritative parents (high acceptance, supervision, and psychological autonomy granting) were more likely to have graduated at age 22 compared to adolescents with less authoritative parents. Moreover, the level of student engagement at age 15 partly mediated the relationship between authoritative parenting and educational status. These findings emphasize the importance of quality parent–child relationships to enhance adolescents' school engagement, which in turn reduces the risk of school dropout.