Perception of Parental Attitudes and General Academic Achievement of High School Students: a Russian-Kyrgyz Study

Objective. Cross-cultural analysis of the perception of parental attitudes and its influence on the general academic performance of high school students from Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
Background. The characteristics of parental attitudes are closely related not only to the child’s educational success during life in the family, but also to educational achievements in the future. At the same time, the sociocultural specifics of parent-child relationships, through the perception of a growing child, can change the direction and magnitude of such associations.
Study design. The characteristics of the relationship between mothers and fathers – emotional acceptance and overprotection – by high school students from two countries differing in socio-economic status are analyzed. A cross-cultural analysis of the structure of associations between the characteristics of the perception of parental attitudes and academic performance is carried out.
Participants. The study analyzed data from 528 students in grades 10–11 from Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Russian sample: 230 people (M = 17,31; SD = 0,7), 58,1% girls. Kyrgyz sample: 298 people (M = 17,21; SD = 0,7), 67,6% girls.
Measurements. Russian-language version of the questionnaire “Parental Bonding Instrument” (T.N. Tikhomirova, D.A. Gaysina, S.B. Malykh, 2021).
Results. At high school age, the perception of parental attitude has a culture-specific conditioning, most clearly expressed in the perception of emotional acceptance by the mother and the overprotective attitude of the father.
Conclusions. Given the existence of a universal model of the influence of parental attitudes on the general academic performance of high school students, cross-cultural specificity of functional associations within the model is observed, which is more characteristic of the perception of the attitudes of fathers rather than mothers.

1. Obzor doklada o chelovecheskom razvitii za 2023-2024 gg. Vykhod iz tupika. Pereosmyslenie sotrudnichestva v polyarizovannom mire [Overview of the 2023-2024 Human Development Report. Breaking the gridlock. Rethinking cooperation in a polarized world]. Programma razvitiya Organizatsii Ob"edinennykh Natsii, 2024. 33 p. URL: https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/hdr2023-24overviewru.pdf (Accessed 10.07.2024). (In Russ.).
2. Rean A.A., Konovalov I.A. Indikatory detsko-roditel'skikh otnoshenii v kontekste razlichnykh sotsial'no-demograficheskikh pokazatelei [Indicators of Parent-Child Relationships in the Context of Various Socio-Demographic Parameters]. Integratsiya obrazovaniya = Integration of education, 2020, no. 3, pp. 433–452. DOI:10.15507/1991-9468.100.024.202003.433-452 (In Russ.).
3. Tikhomirova T.N. Kognitivnye osnovy individual'nykh razlichii v akademicheskoi uspeshnosti: strukturno-funktsional'naya model'. Diss. dokt. psikhol. nauk [Cognitive bases of individual differences in academic achievement: a structural-functional model. Sci. (Psychology) diss.]. Moscow, 2016. 463 p. (In Russ.).
4. Tikhomirova T.N., Gaisina D.A., Malykh S.B. Adaptatsiya russkoyazychnoi versii oprosnika «Yunosheskii otchet o roditel'skom otnoshenii» [Adaptation of the Russian-language version of the questionnaire “Parental Bonding Instrument”]. Sibirskii psikhologicheskii zhurnal = Siberian Psychological Journal, 2021, no. 81, pp. 125−141. DOI:10.17223/17267081/81/6 (In Russ.).
5. Tikhomirova T.N., Malykh S.B. Vliyanie osobennostei roditel'skogo otnosheniya na obshchuyu akademicheskuyu uspeshnost' shkol'nikov [The influence of the characteristics of parental attitudes on the general academic success of schoolchildren]. Voprosy psikhologii = Questions of psychology, 2021, no. 2, pp. 14–27. (In Russ.).
6. Castro M., Expósito-Casas E., López-Martín E., Lizasoain L., Navarro E., Gaviria J.L. Parental involvement on student academic achievement: a meta-analysis. Educational research review, 2015. Vol. 14, pp. 33–46. DOI:1016/j.edurev.2015.01.002
7. Checa P., Abundis-Gutierrez A. Parenting styles, academic achievement and the influence of culture. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Research Study, 2018. Vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 1–3. DOI:10.31031/PPRS.2018.01.000518
8. Cheung C.S.S., Pomerantz E.M. Value development underlies the benefits of parents’ involvement in children’s learning: A longitudinal investigation in the United States and China. Journal of educational psychology, Vol. 107, no. 1, pp. 309–320. DOI:10.1037/a0037458
9. Harkness S., Zylicz P.O., Super C.M., Welles-Nyström B., Bermúdez M.R., Bonichini S., ... Mavridis C.J. Children's activities and their meanings for parents: A mixed-methods study in six Western cultures. Journal of Family Psychology, 2011. Vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 799–813. DOI:1037/a0026204
10. Harold G.T., Aitken J.J., Shelton K.H. Inter-parental conflict and children’s academic attainment: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2007. Vol. 48, no. 12, pp. 1223–1232. DOI:1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01793.x
11. Hart B., Risley T.R. Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes Publishing, 1995. 268 p.
12. Kordi A., Bahamdin R. Parenting Attitude and Style and Its Effect on Children's School Achievements. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2010. Vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 217–222.
13. Martin C., Kornienko O., Schaefer D.R., Hanish L.D., Fabes R.A., Goble P. The role of Sex of Peers and Gender-Typed Activities in Young Children’s Peer Affiliative Networks: A Longitudinal Analysis of Selection and Influence. Child Development, 2014. Vol. 84, pp. 921–937. DOI:10.1111/cdev.12032
14. MoosH. The human context: Environmental determinants of behavior. New York, NY: Wiley, 1976. 444 p.
15. Pinquart M. Associations of parenting styles and dimensions with academic achievement in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 2016. Vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 475– DOI:10.1007/s10648-015-9338-y
16. Pougnet E., Serbin L.A., Stack D.M., Schwartzman A.E. Fathers' influence on children's cognitive and behavioural functioning: A longitudinal study of Canadian families. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, Vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 173–182. DOI:10.1037/a0023948
17. Rodic M., Zhou X., Tikhomirova T., Wei W., Malykh S., Ismatulina V., Sabirova E., Davidova Y., Tosto M., Lemelin J.-P., Kovas Y. Cross-Cultural Investigation into Cognitive Underpinnings of Individual Differences in Early Arithmetics. Developmental Science, Vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 165–174. DOI:10.1111/desc.12204
18. Roksa J., Potter D. Parenting and academic achievement: Intergenerational transmission of educational advantage. Sociology of education, Vol. 84, no. 4, pp. 299–321. DOI:10.1177/0038040711417013
19. Rubin K.H., Chung O.B. Parenting beliefs, behaviors, and parent-child relations: A cross-cultural perspective. New York, NY: Psychology Press, 2013. 240 p.
20. Tsaousis I., Mascha K., Giovazolias T. Can parental bonding be assessed in children? Factor structure and factorial invariance of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) between adults and children. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, Vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 238–253. DOI:10.1007/s10578-011-0260-3