Maternal academic involvement and adolescents’ subjective well-being: The mediating role of adolescents’ academic adjustment in China

Abstract

The current study aimed to simultaneously examine the associations between two types of maternal academic involvement (i.e., autonomy support and control) and adolescents’ subjective well-being, as well as the mediating roles of three aspects of adolescents’ academic adjustment (i.e., academic achievement, self-perception of academic competence and learning strategies) in China. Adolescents (N = 760; Mage = 14.54 years) reported on maternal autonomy support and control, as well as their self-perception of academic competence, learning strategies and subjective well-being; data of academic achievement was collected from schools. Results indicated that maternal autonomy support was positively and control was negatively associated with adolescents’ subjective well-being. With respect to the mediating role of academic adjustment, maternal autonomy support was positively, whereas control was negatively associated with adolescents’ academic achievement, which in turn diminished adolescents’ subjective well-being. Only maternal autonomy support was positively associated with adolescents’ self-perception of academic competence and learning strategies, which were in turn associated with high levels of adolescents’ subjective well-being. The current study filled the gaps in existed literature of maternal academic involvement and highlighted that intervention programs targeting adolescents’ positive development should focus on increasing maternal autonomy support and decreasing control. Moreover, parents and educators should provide adolescents with assistance as to foster their self-perception of academic competence and learning strategies, thereby improving their subjective well-being. It is also important for intervention programs to prevent the issue that adolescents with high levels of academic achievement benefited from maternal autonomy support may experience low levels of subjective well-being.