A Structural Equation Model and Item Response Theory Analysis of Parental Involvement in School, Extracurricular Participation, and Delinquencies and Grades

• In Event: Modeling Youth Development: Empirical and Conceptual Advances

Abstract

Research indicates that parental involvement, extracurricular activities and delinquencies uniquely influence grades, less is known about their combined effect on grades. The sample involves 5523 adolescents from the US National Household Education Survey ranging in age from 12 to 18 years old. The theoretical framework of risk and resilience was applied to examine relationships of parental involvement, extracurricular activities and delinquencies on grades. Using structural equation modeling, results supported the hypotheses that parental involvement and extracurricular activities would positively predict grades, while delinquencies would negatively relate to grades. Implications are offered for increasing resilience by promoting extracurricular involvement and parental involvement while diminishing the risk of school delinquencies. Additionally, we conducted IRT analyses to determine the difficulty of item endorsement.

Authors

• Igor Himelfarb, Educational Testing Service

• Michelle Martin-Raugh, Educational Testing Service