Causal Directionality of Longitudinal Relations Between Parent School Involvement and Children's Social-Behavioral and Academic Performance

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: The Role of Parent Involvement in Academic and Social-Behavioral Functioning in Elementary School Settings

Abstract

Despite the decades of research on parent involvement and children’s functioning, the relations between the two remain unclear. Does an increase in parent involvement cause children to perform better? Inversely, does an improvement or deterioration in children’s performance cause parents to be more or less involved? The purpose of the present study is to clarify the causal directionality of longitudinal relations between parent school involvement and children’s social-behavioral and academic functioning during the primary school years. Using the random-intercepts cross-lagged panel model, we test four competing hypotheses concerning the associations: parent-driven hypothesis, child-driven hypothesis, mutual-influence hypothesis, and common-cause hypothesis. The results of analyses provides supportive evidence for common-cause hypothesis. The policy and practice implications of the findings will be discussed.

Author

• Yoonkyung Oh, University of Texas - Health Science Center at Houston