The Intergenerational Transmission of Parental Factors that Influence Educational Attainment among Latinxs in the U.S

ABSTRACT

Parental involvement in education is critical to academic achievement. Mainstream forms of parental involvement often dismiss Latinx parents’ subtle practices. We surveyed 252 Latinxs about their and their parents’ parental communication styles, parenting styles, school involvement, and academic expectations. Correlations were weak to strong. Respondents reported higher mean scores than their parents across all practices except psychological support and authoritarian parenting. Most parenting variables were significantly associated with participants’ academic outcomes. Acculturation moderated the relationship between respondents’ parents’ parental pressure and authoritarian parenting style and their own. Results suggest intergenerational transmission of parenting practices regardless of acculturation.

KEYWORDS:

• Parental involvement
• academic achievement
• Latinxs
• parenting styles
• acculturation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a College of Education and Human Services & Department of Psychology Graduate Research Award grant to Ana E. Kemple Reeves.