Socioeconomic Status and School Adjustment Trajectories across Childhood: The Mediating Role of Parental Involvement

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Recent prospective longitudinal studies have shown that contextual risk such as low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with poor parental involvement, a known risk for academic and social difficulties at school (Barger et al., 2019; Benner et al., 2016). However, relatively few studies have examined how changes in parental involvement may mediate the effects of family SES on changes in school adjustment over an extended time span. This study sought to examine (1) developmental trajectories of parental school-based involvement and various dimensions of school adjustment (i.e., academic achievement, peer acceptance, classroom engagement, teacher-student relationship) in academically at-risk students across elementary school years, and (2) the extent to which family SES influenced the trajectories of various dimensions of school adjustment through the trajectories of parental school-based involvement.

Longitudinal data were available for 784 students from Grades 1 to 5 (Project Achieve; Hughes & Kwok, 2007). SES was measured using three indicators at Grade 1: the highest education and occupation level in each household as well as students’ eligibility for free or reduced lunch. Teachers’ report of parental school-based involvement was measured in Grades 1 to 5 (Parent–Teacher Involvement Questionnaire; Kohl et al., 2000; Joining scale of the Parent–Teacher Relationship Scale; Vickers & Minke, 1995). Four dimensions of school adjustment were assessed annually in Grades 1-5: (1) students’ academic achievement (standardized test; Woodcock et al., 2001), (2) peer acceptance (sociometric interviews; Asher & Dodge, 1986), (3) classroom engagement (Skinner et al., 1998), and (4) teacher-student relationship (Teacher Relationship Inventory1; Hughes, Cavell & Willson, 2001).

Latent growth modeling was used to examine the trajectories of parental involvement and each dimension of school adjustment. Academic achievement and classroom engagement increased, while peer acceptance and teacher-student relationship decreased over time. There was no mean level change in parental school-based involvement, while significant variances were found. Next, we examined whether and how changes in parental involvement mediated the association between family SES and each dimension of school adjustment (Fig 1). Overall, SES positively predicted the intercept of parental school-based involvement at Grade 1. Further, higher SES predicted higher initial levels of each of the four dimensions of school adjustment, an effect that was consistently mediated by the initial level of parental school-based involvement. Initial level of parental school-based involvement also mediated the effects of SES on the linear and quadratic slopes for academic achievement and classroom engagement, but not those for peer acceptance and teacher-student relationship.

These findings support the Family Stress model and Investment model which suggests that low SES negatively influences the development of school adjustment through restricting parental involvement in students’ education. Our findings highlight the negative long-term cascading processes in which low family SES predicts poor parental school-based involvement during the transition into elementary school, which heightens the developmental risk in the academic, social, and behavioral domains. Our findings indicate that prevention programs that are aimed at promoting parental involvement in early elementary school years may mitigate the negative trajectories of school adjustment among socioeconomically and academically at risk students.

Authors

• Yunhee Kim, Yonsei University
  Presenting Author

• Tianyu Li, Austin Peay State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hyoun K. Kim, Yonsei University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Wonjung Oh, Texas Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Zhe Wang, Texas A&M University - College Station
  Non-Presenting Author