The Influence of Age Gap between First-born and Second-born Child on First-born Academic Self-efficacy - The Mediating Role of Parent Involvement

Abstract

With the introduction of the national policy to encourage childbearing, the proportion of families with multiple children has been increasing. It is meaningful to explore whether in multiple children families the age gap between kids affects the childrens academic behaviour. This study aims to explore whether the age gap between the eldest child and the second-born child has an impact on the academic self-efficacy of the eldest child, and if the parental involvement works as a mediating role in this process. A questionnaire survey was used to survey 627 students across the country. The results of the study are: Parental involvement was significantly correlated with academic self-efficacy, and there were significant gender differences in parental involvement, with boys' parents having more involvement. The age gap between the eldest child and the second child was negatively correlated with the academic self-efficacy of the eldest child, and the correlation was significant. Age gap influences the eldest childs academic self-efficacy through parental involvement, and the mediating effect accounts for 59.53% of the total effect.