Longitudinal Changes in Parental Involvement in Adolescents’ Education and the Effects of Neighborhood Context on Parental Involvement
Open Access
Author:
Bhargava, Sakshi
Graduate Program:
Psychology
Degree:
Master of Science
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
February 20, 2014
Committee Members:
Dawn Paula Witherspoon, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Keywords:
home involvement school involvement academic socialization race socioeconomic status gender neighborhood context
Abstract:
This study conceptualized parental involvement as a multidimensional construct – including home based involvement, school based involvement and academic socialization – and examined how these involvement types change across 7th to 11th grade. In addition, this study examined the effects of parent’s race, SES, adolescents’ gender and neighborhood context on parental involvement in middle and high school. Data for this study came from the Maryland Adolescents Development in Context Study (MADICS). A total of 1376 European American and African American families participated in the study (caregivers: 92% females, 66% African American; adolescents: 51% male, 67% African American, age range: 11-14). Multilevel modeling was used to examine the change in parental involvement over time. Results showed that parents reduced their home based and school based involvement across middle and high school; however, they engaged in similar levels of academic socialization over time. African American parents engaged in more home based involvement and academic socialization than European American. Parents from low SES families engaged in more home based involvement and academic socialization and less school based involvement than high SES families. In addition, parents engaged in more home based involvement for boys and more academic socialization for girls. The findings for the association of neighborhood structure and social dynamics with parental involvement were mixed.
