Adolescents' academic expectations and achievement.

Sanders, Christopher E. ; Field, Tiffany M. ; Diego, Miguel A. 等

Individuals who possess a college degree are still at a greater advantage than those who do not in terms of earnings (Hecker, 1998) and employment rates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1999). Therefore, understanding the factors related to increased academic expectations (aspiring to obtain more education) and academic achievement among adolescents should be of great interest to educators. One objective of National Educational Goals 2000 was to increase parental involvement in order to promote the social, emotional, and academic growth of children (as cited in Patrikakou, 1997). Past research suggests that parents' academic expectations for their children influence their children's own academic expectations (Hanson, 1994; Hossler & Stage, 1992; Patrikakou, 1997; Trusty, 1998; Wilson & Wilson, 1992).

Parent-adolescent congruence in academic expectations was found to be stronger in mother-child comparisons than in father-child comparisons (Bornholt & Goodnow, 1999). A study by Smith (1991) further revealed that adolescent expectations were related to perceived parental expectations, especially so for the mothers' expectations. Trusty and Pirtle (1998) found no differences between mother and father influences on adolescent academic expectations when assessed in the adolescents' senior year. However, a more recent study by Trusty (2000) found that mothers' expectations for their children were related to academic expectations in adolescents when assessed during their eighth-grade year.

Academic achievement in adolescents is also related to quality of relationship with parents and parent involvement (Christenson, Rounds, & Gorney, 1992). According to Hafner et al. (as cited in Trusty, 2000) approximately 75% of eighth graders surveyed in the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) expected to achieve a college degree, yet less than 30% planned to take college preparatory classes. In contrast, increased academic expectations appeared to significantly benefit adolescents in one study on college freshman showing that academic expectations were predictive of academic achievement in a calculus course (House, 1995). In addition, a longitudinal study of Belgian children found that academic self-concept and academic achievement were highly related (Muijs, 1997).

Substance use is also noted to relate to lower academic expectations and lower grades (Paulson, Coombs, & Richardson, 1990). High school drop-outs were three times as likely to rate themselves as heavy drinkers and report frequent drunkenness as compared to those in good academic standing (Arellano, Chavez, & Deffenbacher, 1998). A recent review of marijuana effects on educational attainment showed negative effects on school performance and educational attainment (Lynskey & Hall, 2000).

The present study focused on relative influences of parental relationships and substance use on academic expectations and academic achievement. Based on previous findings, mother relationships were expected to be more influential than father relationships on adolescents' academic expectations and achievement. Additionally, substance use was expected to be related to lower expectations and achievement.

METHOD

Participants

The participants were 80 high school seniors (34 males, 46 females), who were recruited from a suburban private high school. Of these, 73% were from intact families, 21% had divorced parents, 5% had both parents deceased, and 1% had parents who never married. The participants' ethnic backgrounds were distributed as follows: 76% Caucasian, 11% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 4% African-American, and 4% other. Their socioeconomic status (SES) was skewed, with 23% ranging from low to middle SES, 50% upper-middle, and 27% upper SES based on the Hollingshead Index.

Measures

Students were administered a 181-item Likert-type questionnaire on behavioral and psychological aspects of adolescent life designed by Field and Yando (1991). They completed the questionnaire anonymously, within a 45-minute time frame, in a large assembly room.

Academic expectations were assessed with the question, "Looking ahead, what would you like to do about school?" Response choices were:

1. Quit school as soon as possible, 2. Finish high school, 3. Finish college, 4. Pursue a graduate degree.

Academic achievement was assessed by asking participants to provide their current grade point average (on a 4-point cumulative scale).

Relationships with mother/father were assessed using a 24-item Likert questionnaire (Blyth & Foster-Clark, 1987) anchored with 1 = "not at all" and 5 = "very much" (Cronbach's alpha = .85; test-retest reliability = .81). The 24 questions are divided into eight identical questions pertaining to mother, father, and friends. Only the mother and father questions were used for this study. The questions are as follows (using the mother forms): (1) "How much do you go to your mother for advice/support?" (2) "How much do you want to be like your mother?" (3) "How much does your mother accept you no matter what you do?" (4) "How much does your mother understand what you're really like?" (5) "How much do you share inner feelings or secrets with your mother?" (6) "How much does your mother come to you for advice/ support?" (7) "How important is your mother to you?" (8) "How satisfied are you with the relationship you have with your mother?"

Substance use was assessed by having participants rate their past use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine on a 4-point scale. Choices were as follows: never, rarely, occasionally, or regularly.

RESULTS

Table 1 displays the bivariate correlations. Based on previous research (House, 1995; Muijs, 1997), academic expectations were expected to be correlated with academic achievement. A correlation analysis revealed that academic expectations and achievement were highly correlated (r = .60, p < .0001).

Two stepwise regression analyses were performed, one using academic expectations as the outcome variable and the other using academic achievement as the dependent variable. Tolerance tests were performed on the predictor variables. All tolerance values were greater than .60 (variance inflation factors < 2), indicating the absence of multicollinearity. Relationship with mother, academic achievement, and alcohol use were found to be significant predictors (see Table 2) of academic expectations, accounting for 56% of the variance collectively. Individually, these variables accounted for 44%, 9%, and 3% of the variance, respectively. Relationship with mother and achievement were associated with higher expectations, and increased alcohol use was associated with lower expectations.

The regression on academic achievement determined that cocaine use, marijuana use, and academic expectations were significant predictors, accounting for 48% of the variance, where cocaine use accounted for 32%, marijuana use 9%, and academic expectations 7% of the variance (see Table 3). Increased cocaine and marijuana use were associated with lower achievement while academic expectations and achievement were positively related.

The predicted residual sum of squares statistic was calculated in order to validate the generalizability of the regressions. For the first regression, using academic expectations as the outcome variable, there was only 11% shrinkage (predicted [R.sup.2] = .45 and obtained [R.sup.2] .56), indicating adequate generalizability. The second regression, using academic achievement as the outcome variable, had slightly more shrinkage (12%), yet still indicating adequate generailizability.

DISCUSSION

The data from this primarily white, upper-middle class, intact family sample are consistent with findings from samples having other demographic backgrounds (Bornholt & Goodnow, 1999; Silverberg, Marczak, & Gondoli, 1996; Smith, 1981, 1991; Williams & Radin, 1993). Relationship with mother was found to be predictive of academic expectations, as in other samples. For example, adolescents who reported more intimacy with their mothers than with their fathers were shown to have a greater interest in school (Field, Lang, Yando, & Bendell, 1995).

Not surprisingly, increased alcohol use was predictive of lower academic expectations. Similarly, increased cocaine use and marijuana use were associated with lower academic achievement. These results are consistent with the Paulson, Coombs, and Richardson (1990) findings.

One possible explanation for relationship with mother being a predictor of academic expectations, but not father relationship, is that there may be a difference in the amount of time each parent spends with his or her child. Unfortunately, such information was not collected in this study. Future research that examines mother/father differences regarding academic expectations and/or achievement should control for the amount of time parents spend with their adolescents. Table 1 Correlation Matrix EXP ACH MOT FAT CIG ALC EXP - ACH .60 (**) - MOT .62 (**) .42 (**) - FAT .28 (*) .18 .52 (**) - GIG -.21 -.29 (*) -.25 (*) -.07 - ALC -.39 (**) .37 (**) -.05 -.03 .42 (**) - MAR -.31 (*) -.49 (**) -.23 (*) -.10 .63 (**) .51 (**) COG -.56 (**) -.56 (**) -.49 (**) -.27 (*) .22 (*) .27 (*) MAR COC EXP ACH MOT FAT GIG ALC MAR - COG .36 (*) - Note. EXP = Academic Expectations, ACH = Academic Achievement, MOT = Relationship with Mother, FAT = Relationship with Father, CIG = Cigarette Use, ALC = Alcohol Use, MAR = Marijuana Use, COC = Cocaine Use (*)p<.05 (**)p<.0001 Table 2 Stepwise Regression on Academic Expectations (N = 80) Variable B SE B [beta] [R.sup.2] Step 1 .44 Relationship with Mother .07 .01 .66 (***) Step 2 .53 Relationship with Mother .06 .01 .52 (***) Academic Achievement .23 .07 .34 (***) Step 3 .56 Relationship with Mother .06 .01 .53 (***) Academic Achievement .22 .08 .26 (**) Alcohol Use -.22 .10 -.19 (*) Variable Adj.[R.sup.2] [DELTA][R.sup.2] Step 1 .43 .44 Relationship with Mother Step 2 .52 .09 Relationship with Mother Academic Achievement Step 3 .55 .03 Relationship with Mother Academic Achievement Alcohol Use (*)p<.05, (**)p<.01, (***)p<.001. Table 3 Stepwise Regression on Academic Achievement (N = 80) Variable B SE B [beta] [R.sup.2] Adj. [R.sup.2] Step 1 .32 .31 Cocaine Use -.66 .11 -.56 (***) Step 2 .41 .39 Cocaine Use -.52 .11 -.44 (***) Marijuana Use -.26 .08 .32 (**) Step 3 .48 .46 Cocaine Use -.32 .12 -.27 (*) Marijuana Use -.24 .07 -.30 (**) Academic Expectations .39 .12 .32 (**) Variable [DELTA][R.sup.2] Step 1 .32 Cocaine Use Step 2 .09 Cocaine Use Marijuana Use Step 3 .07 Cocaine Use Marijuana Use Academic Expectations (*)p<.05, (**)p<.01, (***)p<.001.

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The authors wish to thank the students who participated in this study and Michele Kaplan, Christy Cullen, and Angelica Escalona for assisting with data collection. This research was supported by an NIMH Senior Research Scientist Award (MH00331) to Tiffany Field, and funding from Johnson and Johnson.

Christopher E. Sanders, Tiffany M. Field, and Miguel A. Diego, Touch Research Institutes, University of Miami School of Medicine.

Reprint requests to Christopher E. Sanders, Touch Research Institutes, University of Miami School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics (D-820), P.O. Box 016820, Miami, Florida 33101.