The Effects of Parenting Practice on the Trajectories of Change in the School Adjustment of Upper Elementary Students

Abstract

In upper elementary period school adjustment and the effect of parenting face a new set of dynamics. We assumed that parental supervision, affection, incoherence, over-expectation, over-interruption and logical explanation would have an effect on individual trajectories in the development of school adjustment. Additionally, we hypothesized that this model would be different among boys and girls. In this study we analyzed three waves of data collected from 2,378 children nationwide in South Korea. This data was gathered from the Panel Study of Korean Youth and Adolescents conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute(NYPI). Growth-curve longitudinal analysis was conducted and the results indicate that levels of school adjustment had decreased through the 4th to 6th grade. Parents’ supervision, affection and logical explanation significantly predict children’s initial school adjustment as well as their rate of decrease in their levels of school adjustment. Parents’ supervision had a positive effect on girls’ school adjustment. Parents’ over-expectation had negative effect on boys’ school adjustment levels. Policy implications and future directions for research were also discussed. 색인어: 학교생활 ì ì‘, 부모의 양육방식, 성차, ìž ìž¬ì„±ìž¥ëª¨í˜• Keywords: school adjustment, parenting practice, gender, latent growth modeling