Predicting children's school grades: Unique and interactive effects of parental beliefs and child inattention/hyperactivity symptoms

Abstract

Parental beliefs about school involvement are key in predicting individual differences in children's academic success. The current study examined unique and interactive relations between parental beliefs and child inattention/hyperactivity symptoms in predicting children's achievement. Participants (N=348) were caregivers of children aged 8-12. Caregivers completed questionnaires regarding their beliefs and their child's inattention/hyperactivity and achievement. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated lower child inattention/hyperactivity and greater parental confidence in their ability to help their child academically predicted better achievement. Parent/child interactions probed with simple slopes suggested an achievement gap for children with higher inattention/hyperactivity only when their parents felt less efficacious or more responsible for their child's academic success. This suggests parent self-efficacy may buffer the negative relation between children's inattention/hyperactivity symptoms and underachievement, and parents of children with higher inattention/hyperactivity may increasingly assume responsibility for their success due to feedback from the school. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Academic achievement predicts several short- and long-term outcomes for children. Parental involvement beliefs are multi-faceted and predict children's academic success. Child inattention/hyperactivity symptoms are related to lower academic achievement. What does this study add? It provides specificity of previous relations for children with a range of inattention/hyperactivity symptoms. It identifies parental self-efficacy as a promising moderator of the relation between child behaviour and academics. It provides a preliminary evidence base for future work on the role of parental beliefs in child academic outcomes.