AI Insight
This study of 620 Chinese adolescents found that parental psychological control was negatively associated with academic adjustment, with this relationship partially explained through reduced academic buoyancy (resilience to academic setbacks) and lower learning engagement. The negative effects were weaker among students with a stronger growth mindset, suggesting that believing abilities can be developed may buffer against the harmful effects of controlling parenting on academic outcomes.
Why it matters
The findings highlight specific mechanisms through which controlling parenting practices may undermine academic success and suggest that fostering growth mindset in adolescents could serve as a protective factor. This has implications for parent education programs and school-based interventions aimed at supporting student academic development.
Understand the Science
BackgroundParental psychological control has been associated with poorer academic adjustment among adolescents, yet the indirect associations and moderating factors involved remain insufficiently understood. Guided by self-determination theory, this study examined the association between parental psychological control and adolescents’ academic adjustment, the indirect associations involving academic buoyancy and learning engagement, and the moderating role of growth mindset.MethodsA total of 620 Chinese adolescents completed standardized questionnaires assessing parental psychological control, academic buoyancy, learning engagement, growth mindset, and academic adjustment. Data were analyzed using SPSS with the PROCESS macro to test a moderated serial mediation model.ResultsParental psychological control was negatively associated with adolescents’ academic adjustment (p < 0.001). Three significant statistical indirect associations were identified. The indirect association involving academic buoyancy accounted for 18.09% of the total indirect effect, and that involving learning engagement accounted for 22.94%. The indirect association involving academic buoyancy and learning engagement in the specified serial model accounted for 8.56% of the total indirect effect. Moderation analyses showed that the negative associations of parental psychological control with academic adjustment, academic buoyancy, and learning engagement were weaker at higher levels of growth mindset.ConclusionThe findings suggest that parental psychological control is associated with adolescents’ academic adjustment through statistical indirect associations involving academic buoyancy and learning engagement, with these associations varying across levels of growth mindset. The cross-sectional design precludes causal conclusions, and the proposed relationships require further examination using longitudinal and intervention designs.