Poster #26 - Parental Academic Achievement Pressure and Children’s Problematic Media Use, Autonomy and School Adjustment in Korea

• In Event: Poster Session 05

Abstract

The Confucian heritage in Korea shows quite distinctive features in Korea, placing not only Korean parents’ zeal for their children’s education but also considerable societal pressure for children’s academic achievement. It is an undeniable reality that the emphasis on academic performance starts from early age in Korea, and thus, children’s experience of stress in relation to academic achievement cannot be negligible. Although developmentally appropriate parental academic involvement in children’s education is positively related to their academic achievement and school adjustment (Gonzalez-Dehass et al., 2005), research demonstrates that parental academic achievement pressure is negatively associated with children’s academic performance (Grolnick et al., 2002). Based on academic performance, it is known that the concept of school adjustment has expanded by encompassing multiple aspects (Henry et al., 2009). In the Korean context, children’s school adjustment, especially, includes school works, relationships with friends and teachers, and school life; therefore, in line with this concept, children’s perception of parental academic achievement pressure seems to be one of the main negative predictors of children’s school adjustment.
The aim of this study examines the association between children’s perceived parental academic achievement pressure and their school adjustment with linking mechanisms of problematic media use and autonomy. In other words, parents’ academic zeal towards their children may play role in children’s higher levels of media consumption or lower levels of their own autonomy, which finally lead to lower levels of children’s school adjustment. Furthermore, it is expected that parental academic achievement pressure may contribute to children’s high levels of media use as an outlet exposing their stress, and it may link to their lower level of autonomy, which in turn, may be correlated with children’s school adjustment. As far as, little is known about the links among those variables.
The participants consisted of 1,274 Korean children in fifth grade from the survey data of Panel Study of Korean Children. Survey included with measures of parental academic achievement pressure, children’s autonomy and school adjustment, reported by children’s own, and children’s problematic media use reported by their parents. Children’s gender and household monthly income were considered as covariates. Data were analyzed by means of a SEM to identify the structure and relations among variables.
As illustrated in Figure 1, children’s perceived parental academic achievement pressure did not show significant direct effect on children’s school adjustment. Interestingly, parental academic achievement pressure did significantly predict children’s problematic media use and autonomy, which both resulted in significant relation to their school adjustment. Additionally, it had an indirect effect on children’s school adjustment through the dual mediating effects of both, their problematic media use and their autonomy. Table 1 also gives the significance of direct and indirect effects of latent variables.
Children’s school adjustment is one of important developmental milestones. The findings support the significance school and home-based interventions to improve children’s successful school life. Results from theses analyses, implications for understanding children’s school adjustment in relation to their own characteristics and surrounding factors, such as parental and media effects will be discussed in detail.

Author

• Yea-Ji Hong, Inha University
  Presenting Author