IMPACT OF PARENTING STYLES ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT:

PARENTING STYLES, PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT,

PERSONALITY FACTORS AND PEER ORIENTATION

Katherine DeMeo Kusterer

A Doctoral Dissertation
Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the
Department of Psychology

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In Partial Fulfillment of the
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Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology
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Long Island University
April 2009
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Major Department: Sponsoring Committee:

Psychology

Certified By:

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'Toan Duncan, Ph.D. Joan Duncan, Ph.D.
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Date Paul Michael Ramirez,JPh.D.

 UMI Number: 3356956

Copyright 2009 by
Kusterer, Katherine DeMeo

All rights reserved.

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 11

ABSTRACT

Research has demonstrated a relationship between parenting styles and academic

achievement in children and young adolescents. Global measures of parental

involvement have also been shown to mediate this relationship. However, there is little

research that examines these relationships within an older adolescent population or that

has studied specific components of parental involvement. This study evaluated the

relationships between four parenting styles and academic achievement as well as the

mediating effect of three types of parental involvement was assessed. A total of 136

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students, 72 from a university and 64 from a high school, completed self-report

questionnaires. In addition, the relationships between personality characteristics and

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academic achievement and peer orientation and academic achievement were also

evaluated. The mediation model proposed was only partially supported. Only one of the
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components of parental involvement, described as parental support of academic

endeavors, was found to mediate the effect of parenting styles on academic achievement.
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This relationship existed when school attitudes were used as the outcome. However,

these findings were not significant. Though this study has limitations, the findings

provide another layer of data within this field of research. Implications and future

research directions are also discussed.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would first like to thank my parents, Diane and Nick, for their love and support.

You have always encouraged me to find what I love to do and persevere until I reach my

goals. This dissertation, and my entire graduate career, would not have been possible

without your guidance and support. I'd also like to thank my sisters, Jen and Liz, for

always being there for me. Whether it was in the form of a quick "study break"

conversation or by digging through old stats notebooks, you have both helped me

throughout this process.

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I am truly grateful to my husband and best friend, Brian. From my first graduate

school application to the last revision on this dissertation, you have been my ceaseless
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cheerleader, my steadfast shoulder to lean on, and the nagging voice in my head that says,

"Shouldn't you be doing your work right now?" Thank you for your unwavering love
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and support. I never could have done this without you.

I would like to thank the family and friends who encouraged me throughout
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graduate school. Your assistance, understanding, and knack for making me laugh are

greatly appreciated.

Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Gary Kose for his guidance from the beginning

of this project and at each step along the way. I would also like to thank Dr. Joan Duncan

and Dr. Paul Ramirez for their thoughtful feedback, guidance, and encouragement.
 iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vi

I. INTRODUCTION 1

II. LITERATURE REVIEW 4

Parenting Styles 4
Parent Involvement 8
Personality Development 15

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Peer Groups 18

III. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 23

Theoretical Foundations IE 23
Variables 27
Hypotheses 28
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IV. METHODS 30
Sample 30
Procedure 30
Measures 30
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V. RESULTS 36
Preliminary Analyses 36
Hypothesis Testing 44
Additional Analyses 62
Summary of Findings 66

VI. DISCUSSION 68
Overview 68
Parenting Styles 69
Peer Groups 71
Parental Involvement 71
Academic Achievement 72
Limitations of this Study 73
Implications and Avenues for Future Research 74

REFERENCES 76
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APPENDICES 87
Appendix A Long Island University Recruitment Flyer 87
Appendix B South Side High School Recruitment Flyer 88
Appendix C Consent Form for Long Island University 89
Appendix D Consent Form for South Side High School 90
Appendix E Parental Consent Form for South Side High School 91
Appendix F Assent Form for South Side High School 92
Appendix G Demographic Questionnaire 93
Appendix H Parenting Style Index 94
Appendix I The Big Five Inventory 97
Appendix J Peer Orientation Index 104
Appendix K School Attitude Assessment Survey - Revised 105
Appendix L Parenting Context Questionnaire - Involvement Items 110
Appendix M Parent Involvement Measure Ill
Appendix N IRB Approval 112

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 vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Demographic Characteristics 37

2. Parenting Styles 39

3. Intercorrelations Between Predictor Variables: Personality and

Peer Orientation 40

4. Intercorrelations Between Mediator Variables: Parental Involvement 42

5. Descriptive Statistics for Outcome Variable Measures 43

6. Pearson Correlations Between Parenting Styles and

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Academic Achievement 45
7. Pearson Correlations Between Authoritative and Neglectful Parenting and
Family Environment IE 48

8. Pearson Correlations Between Academic Achievement and

Parental Involvement 50
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9. Partial Correlations Between Authoritative and Neglectful Parenting and
Academic Achievement, Controlling for Parental Involvement 54

10. Pearson Correlations Between Conscientiousness, Openness to

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Experience and Academic Achievement 57

11. Pearson Correlations Between Negative Peer Orientation and

Academic Achievement 61

12. Parenting Styles for Split Sample 63

13. Partial Correlations Between Parenting Styles and Academic Achievement,

Controlling for Combined Parental Involvement 65
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Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Parents play a highly influential role in their child's development. Baumrind (1967)

identified that preschool children raised by parents with differing parenting styles varied in

their degree of social competence. Baumrind (1971) proposed a theory of parenting which

states that the manner in which parents resolve their child's joint needs for both nurturance

and limit-setting has a major impact on the degree of social competence achieved and the

behavioral adjustment of their children. This theory identified three qualitatively different

patterns of parental authority (Baumrind, 1971). This typology was subsequently modified by

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categorizing families according to their levels of parental demandingness (control,
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supervision, maturity demands) and responsiveness (warmth, acceptance, involvement)

(Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Redefining parenting styles in terms of the interactions between
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these two dimensions produced a fourfold typology: authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent and

neglectful.
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Parents who are classified as parenting in an authoritarian style are highly demanding

and unresponsive. Authoritarian parents tend to emphasize obedience and respect for

authority (Baumrind, 1991b). In contrast, authoritative parents tend to maintain a balance

between high levels of demandingness and high levels of responsiveness. These parents

consistently monitor conduct, but they are also warm and supportive (Baumrind, 1991b;

Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, & Fraleigh, 1987). Indulgent and neglectful styles

are both characterized by nondemandingness, but they differ in their level of responsiveness.

Parents characterized by low demandingness and high responsiveness engage in an indulgent

style. Parents who are neither demanding nor responsive display a neglectful style of
 2

parenting. These parents do not monitor their children's behaviors or support their interests,

and they are often disengaged from parental responsibilities (Maccoby & Martin, 1983).

Research in psychology and education has demonstrated that general parenting styles

and specific parenting practices shape a child's development (Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg,

Dornbusch, 1991; Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbusch, & Darling, 1992). Studies have also

demonstrated that parental influence does not decline as children mature into adolescence

(Baumrind, 1991b; Steinberg, Lamborn, Darling, Mounts, & Dornbusch, 1994; Stevenson &

Baker, 1987). However, there is limited understanding of the processes through which

parenting styles influence adolescent development. In addition, there are few studies of the

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mechanisms that intervene between parenting and adolescent outcomes, specifically
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adolescents' achievement outcomes (Glasgow, Dornbusch, Troyer, Steinberg, & Ritter, 1997).

The focus of the present research is on the role of parenting styles in the lives of
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adolescents. It will examine the relationship between each of the four parenting styles and

academic achievement. Specifically, this study will assess the mediating effects of parental

involvement on the relationship between parenting styles and academic achievement.

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Furthermore, the present research will also examine the contribution of the adolescent's

personality factors to the relationship between these variables. Peer orientation will be

assessed to account for the potential influence peers may have on adolescent achievement.

Based on the literature, it is hypothesized that there will be significant correlations

between each of the parenting styles and academic achievement, specifically that there will be

a positive correlation between authoritative parenting and high levels of academic

achievement and a negative con-elation between neglectful parenting and high levels of

academic achievement. Parenting styles will also be significantly correlated with parental
 3

school involvement, specifically that authoritative parenting will be positively correlated with

parental involvement and neglectful parenting will be negatively correlated with parental

involvement. Based on Steinberg et al. (1992), parental school involvement will be more

highly correlated with academic achievement within authoritative parenting families. The

impact of parenting styles on academic achievement is expected to be mediated by parental

involvement. Additionally, parenting styles will be correlated with certain Big Five

personality dimensions. These personality dimensions are also expected to correlate with

academic achievement. It is expected that the impact of parental style on academic

achievement will be mediated by personality characteristics for authoritarian, neglectful, and

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indulgent parenting styles. Finally, students who are less susceptible to negative peer
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influences are expected to have higher levels of academic achievement.
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Chapter II

LITERATURE REVIEW

This section will review literature on parenting styles, parental involvement,

personality development, and peer orientation in adolescents. These are the main areas of

literature relevant to this investigation.

Parenting Styles

Parental attitudes toward child-rearing and the family life are an important influence in

a child's personality development (Schaefer & Bell, 1958). Personality theory provides a

rationale for the conceptualization and quantification of parental attitudes through the

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identification of a related set of concepts which point to a person's tendency to orient and act
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with respect to objects in a certain manner. These concepts include emotional, cognitive, and

motivational elements and imply stable personality characteristics (Schaefer & Bell, 1958).
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Assuming that these characteristics are related to the type of relationship a parent develops

with his or her child, measuring these characteristics would permit predictions of the parent's

behavior with his or her child and the future personality adjustment of the child (Schaefer &
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Bell, 1958).

Parents play a highly influential role in their child's development. Clinical

observation has revealed that the impact of parental attitudes and practices on the

developmental behavior of the child is profound (Walsh, 1968). Baumrind (1967) identified

that preschool children reared by parents with differing parenting styles varied in their degrees

of social competence. She proposed a parenting style theory which posits that the manner in

which parents resolve their child's joint needs for both nurturance and limit-setting has a

major impact on the degree of social competence achieved and the behavioral adjustment of
 5

their children (Baumrind, 1971). This approach focused on the presence of different

parenting elements (such as warmth, demands, and supervision) and assumed that the impact

of any one element depends, in part, on the arrangement of all others. As such, parenting

style is viewed as a characteristic of the parent that alters the effectiveness of family

socialization practices and the child's receptiveness to such practices (Darling & Steinberg,

1993).

Baumrind (1971) identified three qualitatively different patterns of parental authority:

authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive. This typology was subsequently modified by

categorizing families according to their levels of parental demandingness (control,

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supervision, maturity demands) and responsiveness (warmth, acceptance, involvement)
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(Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Redefining parenting styles in terms of the interactions between

these two dimensions produced a fourfold typology. The primary difference between
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Baumrind's model (1971) and Maccoby and Martin's model (1983) is that the latter

differentiates between two types of permissive parenting.

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The permissive parenting category was replaced by classifications of "indulgent" and

"neglectful." These styles are both characterized by nondemandingness, but they differ in

their level of responsiveness. Parents characterized by low demandingness and high

responsiveness engage in an indulgent style of parenting. These parents are warm and

accepting, but they exercise little authority, make few demands for mature behavior, and

allow considerable self-regulation by the child or adolescent. Parents who are neither

demanding nor responsive display a neglectful style of parenting. These parents do not

monitor their children's behavior or support their interests, and they are often disengaged

from parental responsibilities (Maccoby & Martin, 1983).

 6

Parents who are classified as engaging in an authoritarian style are highly demanding

and unresponsive. These parents attempt to mold and control the behavior and attitudes of

their children according to a set of standards. They expect the rules they impose to be

followed without question or explanation. Authoritarian parents also tend to emphasize

obedience and respect for authority (Baumrind, 1991b). In contrast, authoritative parents

maintain a balance between high levels of demandingness and responsiveness. They establish

and firmly enforce rules and standards for their children's behavior, which is expected to be

socially responsible and mature. These parents consistently monitor conduct, but they are

also warm and supportive. They encourage communication with their children and validate

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the child's point of view (Baumrind, 1991b; Dornbusch et al., 1987).
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Although the parenting style classifications were originally developed for research on

family socialization practices during childhood, they have also been used to study the links
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between family interaction patterns and areas of adolescent functioning. Studies have

investigated the significance of parenting styles for older children and adolescents, and
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research has shown that parental influence does not decline as children mature into

adolescence (Baumrind, 1991b; Steinberg et al., 1994). Slicker (1998) found that the effects

of parenting styles persist when the typology is applied to graduating high school seniors,

indicating that these effects have long range developmental ramifications for the child.

Research has generally found that authoritatively raised adolescents consistently

scored higher on measures of psychosocial competence and school achievement, and lower on

measures of internal distress and problem behavior when compared to adolescents from

nonauthoritative families (Garg, Levin, Urajnik, & Kauppi, 2005; Lamborn et al., 1991;

Steinberg et al., 1992). Ethnic and cultural variations in the impact of parenting styles have
 7

been found (Darling & Steinberg, 1993; Dornbusch et al., 1987), but this empirical pattern

appears to transcend gender, family structure, age, and social class distinctions. According to

Walker (2008), these results were due to authoritative parents' tendency to instill academic

and social competence by helping their children balance the need for autonomous, active

thinking with other-oriented, rule-following tendencies. Appropriate parental structuring or

behavioral control during home-based learning activities such as homework promotes on-task

behavior, makes the environment predictable and consistent, and protects students from

distraction (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001). Similarly, appropriate autonomy support offers

children opportunities for independent practice with concepts and procedures (Walker, 2008).

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In contrast, adolescents with neglectful parents showed the lowest level of adjustment among
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the four parenting styles. These adolescents are the most disadvantaged with respect to social

competence, academic achievement, and psychosocial adjustment (Lamborn et al., 1991).

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Many of the studies on parenting styles have specifically focused on authoritative

parenting (Steinberg, Mounts, Lamborn, & Dornbusch, 1991; Steinberg et al., 1992;
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Steinberg, Elmen, & Mounts, 1989). Steinberg and colleagues (Steinberg et al., 1991,1992)

have suggested that throughout adolescence three specific components of authoritativeness

contribute to healthy psychological development and school success: parental acceptance or

warmth, behavioral supervision and strictness, and psychological autonomy granting or

democracy. These studies have attempted to examine authoritativeness through these three

components and examine the independent contributions made by each.

The empirical literature contains some examinations of the psychological processes

that may mediate the impact of parenting practices on child and adolescent competence

(Gottfried, Fleming, & Gottfried, 1994; Grolnick, Ryan, & Deci, 1991; Steinberg, Elmen, &
 8

Mounts, 1989; Steinberg et al., 1992), including psychosocial maturity, work orientation, and

a tendency for self-regulation. In general, these studies indicated that the direct effects from

parenting factors to academic outcomes are either weak or nonsignificant. Instead, there are

significant indirect effects directed through the mediating variables.

Parent Involvement

Parent involvement is described as the degree to which a parent is "committed to his

or her role as a parent and to the fostering of optimal child development" (Maccoby & Martin,

1983, p. 48). The history of research in parent involvement stems from sociological theories

noting the importance of background factors, such as parent education, in predicting school

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achievement. From these findings, theorists began to explore processes through which
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background factors might exert their forces (Grolnick & Slowiaczek, 1994). This research,

which linked background variables and achievement, represented home and school as separate
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and parents as passive contributors to their child's schooling (Stevenson & Baker, 1987).

Parent involvement in American schools has been present since the beginning of
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formalized schooling. However, the nature of the collaboration has evolved through time

(Epstein & Sanders, 2002). Initially parents maintained a high degree of control over

schooling by controlling the hiring of teachers. By the middle of the 20th century, there was

strict separation between the roles of families and the roles of schools. Schools were

responsible for academic topics, while families were responsible for moral and cultural

education. At this time schools accepted little input from the families. Currently, given

greater demands for children's achievement, school and families have formed partnerships

and shared the responsibilities for children's education (Hill & Taylor, 2004). In this context,

parental involvement relates to parents' interest and participation in their children's schooling
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and learning. This participation is reflected in a range of home- and school-based behaviors

intended to help children's learning by encouraging, facilitating, or supplementing school

teaching. Parental involvement can target the cognitive, behavioral, and motivational aspects

of children's learning (Seginer & Vermulst, 2002). Involvement often consists of the

following activities: volunteering at school, communicating with teachers or other school

personnel, assisting in academic activities at home, and attending school events, meetings of

parent-teacher associations, and parent-teacher conferences. For middle and high school

students, discussions between parents and adolescents about school and plans for the future

are often included in definitions of parental academic involvement (Hill & Taylor, 2004).

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Unlike research on parenting styles, early empirical research on parental involvement
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was limited by the lack of a guiding theoretical framework (Fan & Chen, 2001). However,

Epstein (1987) proposed a widely recognized typology to account for different levels of
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parental involvement in a child's education. Initially Epstein (1987) identified four types of

parental involvement in schools: basic obligations, school-to-home communications, parent

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involvement at school, and parent involvement in learning activities at home. Epstein (1992)

later expanded the typology and identified six types of opportunities for parent involvement in

school. These types are: assisting parents in child-rearing skills, school-parent

communication, involving parents in school volunteer opportunities, involving parents in

home-based learning, involving parents in school decision-making, and involving parents in

school-community collaborations. This typology of parental involvement stems mainly from

the perspective of the school, focusing on what schools can do to stimulate more active

parental involvement. However, this typology highlights the multidimensional aspect of

parent involvement.
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Within the realm of educational research, parental involvement has typically focused

on one specific activity, such as going to school functions (Stevenson & Baker, 1987), helping

with homework or course selection, the specific encouragement of school success, or the

number of contacts between families and schools (Iverson, Brownlee, & Walberg, 1981).

Several studies have demonstrated the positive effects of parental involvement in children's

schooling (e.g., Fehrmann, Keith, & Reimers, 1987; Steinberg et al., 1992). In general, these

studies (Jeynes, 2005; Steinberg et al., 1992; Stevenson & Baker, 1987) indicated that

students whose parents are more involved in their education earn higher grades in school,

provided that other factors are equal.

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According to Hill and Taylor (2004), there are two major mechanisms by which
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parental involvement promotes achievement. The first is by increasing social capital, which

refers to parents' skills and information, thereby making parents better equipped to assist their
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children in school-related activities. As parents establish relationships with teachers and

school administrators, they learn important information about the school's expectations for

homework, how to help with homework, and how to supplement their child's learning at
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home (Lareau, 1996). When parents are involved in schooling, they meet other parents with

whom they can share information about and insight on school policies and practices. Parents

might also learn from each other which teachers are the best and how difficult situations have

been handled in the past. Additionally, when parents and teachers interact, teachers learn

about parents' expectations for their children (Hill & Taylor, 2004). Baker and Stevenson

(1986) found that compared with parents who were not involved, involved parents developed

more complex strategies for working with schools and their children to promote achievement.
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Social control is a second mechanism through with parental involvement promotes

achievement (Hill & Taylor, 2004). Social control occurs when families and schools work

together to build a consensus about appropriate behavior that can be effectively

communicated to children at both home and school (McNeal, 1999). When parents and

teachers agree on both behavioral and academic goals for children, the agreement serves as a

sort of social constraint that reduces problem behaviors. Children then receive similar

messages about appropriate behavior across settings and from different sources, ensuring that

the messages are clear and reducing confusion about expectations (Hill & Taylor, 2004).

Parents' involvement with their children's schooling is not a uniform process, and

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researchers have studied many dimensions of parental involvement. Researchers have
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distinguished between at-home academic involvement and at-school academic involvement

(Eccles & Harold, 1996). At-home academic involvement has been described as contact
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between parent and child that is focused on the child's schooling (Shumow & Miller, 2001).

Home-based involvement includes activities like direct help with schoolwork, guidance on

course selection, and advice on career planning. At-school involvement requires parents to
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initiate, or be available for, contact with school personnel, including activities like attending

conferences and school events (such as sporting events), participating in parent-teacher

organizations, or by serving in decision-making roles (such as on school boards) (Shumow &

Miller, 2001). Due to the variety in conceptualization and measurement of parent

involvement, strong conclusions from research have been difficult to establish.

Fan and Chen (2001) conducted a meta-analysis of the relationship between parental

involvement and students' academic achievement. The results of this analysis found that

parental involvement, as represented by parents' supervision of children at home (e.g., rules

 12

for watching TV, for doing schoolwork, etc.), had the weakest relationship with students'

academic achievement (r ~ .09), whereas parents' aspirations and expectations for children's

educational achievement appeared to have the strongest relationship with students' academic

achievement (r ~ .40) (Fan & Chen, 2001).

Much of the current literature focuses on parental involvement in elementary schools.

Parental school involvement is thought to decrease as children move to middle and high

school, partly because adolescents increasingly become more autonomous and due to parents'

beliefs that they may not be able to assist with more challenging high school subjects (Eccles

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& Harold, 1996). Despite this belief, few parents stop caring about or monitoring the

academic progress of their high school-age children, and parental involvement remains an
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important predictor of school outcomes through adolescence (Hill & Taylor, 2002). However,

parents may experience a decrease in their feelings of efficacy as their children grow older. It
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is possible that parents may be less knowledgeable about the subject matter being taught in

more advanced and specialized courses. Parents may also feel that the methods used in
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teaching various subjects are very different from the methods used when they were in school.

Consequently, parents may worry that they will mislead or confuse the children if they try to

help (Eccles & Harold, 1993). Based on this theory, Shumow and Lomax (2002) posited that

parents' efficacy beliefs could predict reports of parental involvement, parental monitoring,

and parent-child communication. They found that parental efficacy predicted reported

parental involvement and parental monitoring among parents of adolescents overall and

within each of the racial or ethnic groups studied, with control for environmental aspects of

adolescent age, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood characteristics in their model

(Shumow & Lomax, 2002). The findings of the study also showed that reports of
 13

involvement contributed to both the academic and socioemotional adjustment of adolescents

in the overall sample (Shumow & Lomax, 2002).

Generally, as adolescents mature, they tend to gradually distance themselves from

their parents (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986) and increase their self-reliance (Epstein &

Connors, 1995). Parental involvement practices that seem appropriate when children are at

the elementary school level may become inappropriate when they enter high school, and it

may be difficult for parents to determine which involvement activities are developmentally

appropriate (Deslandes & Cloutier, 2002). Thus, parents may find ways to become involved

in less direct, more developmentally appropriate ways (Hill et al., 2004). For example,

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although direct helping with homework declines in adolescence, parent involvement during
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middle and high school is associated with an increase in the amount of time students spend on

homework and an increase in the percentage of homework completed (Epstein & Sanders,
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2002). Adolescents may also be resistant to certain forms of parental involvement as they

strive for more independence. However, Deslandes and Cloutier (2002) found that

adolescents are in favor of supporting most parental involvement in school activities across
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various family structures and parental education levels.

Jeynes (2005) studied the effects of parental involvement on the academic

achievement of African American students in the twelfth grade. The results of Jeynes's

(2005) study indicated that having "highly involved parents" contributes to the academic

outcomes for African American students. The effects are statistically significant when

controlling for gender, but the relationship was attenuated when SES variables were added to

the analysis. Though this finding identifies SES as being a factor in the relationship, it does

not negate the influence of parental involvement.

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Although research on the effects of parent involvement suggests that it has positive

effects on students' learning, research on parental involvement's effects on high school

students has been limited (Keith et al., 1998). In addition, most of this research has used

global measures as opposed to a multidimensional representation of parent involvement. A

more active and multidimensional view of the parent is inherent in the notion of parent

involvement, because parental involvement subsumes a wide variety of parental behavioral

patterns and parenting practices (Fan & Chen, 2001; Hong & Ho, 2005). Researchers have

focused on it as a key mediator between background factors and achievement (Grolnick &

Slowiaczek, 1994).

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Grolnick and Slowiaczek (1994) proposed a conceptualization of parent involvement
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in children's schooling that integrates developmental and educational constructs and includes

both a general definition as well as specific dimensions. In this framework, parent

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involvement is defined as the dedication of resources by the parent to the child within a given

domain. Grolnick and Slowiaczek (1994) underscored the importance of examining the

child's experience of the parent's involvement because the child must experience the
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resources in order for the resources to have an influence. They identified three dimensions of

parent involvement: behavior, personal, and cognitive/intellectual. The behavior component

includes overt behaviors such as going to the school and participating in school activities.

Parent's personal involvement includes the child's affective experience that the parent cares

about school, and has and enjoys positive interactions with them around school. The

cognitive/intellectual dimension involves exposing the child to stimulating activities and

materials such as books and current events (Grolnick & Slowiaczek, 1994).
 15

Personality Development

Issues of identity become paramount during adolescence and much of an adolescent's

personality development depends upon the development of his or her sense of identity.

Identity development during adolescence is affected by changes in adolescents' self-concepts

and self-esteem. Unlike children, adolescents are able to differentiate their view of

themselves from others' perspectives (Feldman, 2000). Adolescents are also capable of

seeing various parts of themselves simultaneously (Adams, Montemayor, & Gulotta, 1996).

Along with this capability, they begin to evaluate the different aspects of themselves in new

ways, such as academic performance, physical appearance, and social success (Chan, 1997).

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Factors like gender, race, and socioeconomic status, as well as the combination of these
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factors, affect the development of self-esteem.

Adolescents increasingly seek autonomy, independence and a sense of control over

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their lives. The increase in adolescent autonomy is reflected in the relationship between

parents and teenagers (Smetana, 1995). At the beginning of adolescence, parents tend to hold

most of the power and influence over the relationship. By the end of adolescence, power and
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influence have become more balanced, and the result is a more egalitarian relationship

between parents and their children. Despite the more balanced relationship, parents typically

retain the upper hand (Feldman, 2000).

There is an increasing recognition of late adolescence and the transition to adulthood

as an important developmental period (Dornbusch, 2000). Though there is disparity in the

literature regarding an exact age at which late adolescence begins, the range from ages 16

years to 18 years is generally considered an acceptable benchmark (Berndt, 1982; Arnett,

2000). Demographically, individuals this age undergo a series of closely spaced and
 16

formative life events (e.g., choosing a college, leaving home, and matriculating into college,

starting careers; Blonigen et al., 2008). Adolescents at this age also begin to define their

identities and make commitments to roles in life (Arnett, 2000). One developmental construct

that has been linked to these experiences is personality traits.

Personality traits have been characterized as internal dispositions and tendencies to

behave, think, and feel in consistent ways (Blonigen, Carlson, Hicks, Krueger, & Iacono,

2008). In addition, personality traits are conceptualized by many to represent stable and

enduring patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that become increasingly solidified

throughout adulthood (Costa & McCrae, 1997). While various structural models of

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personality have been utilized in the literature, a five-factor model has largely been accepted
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as a comprehensive taxonomy for organizing personality dimensions (Tackett, Krueger,

Iacono, & McGue, 2008).

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Researchers have identified five major clusters of personality traits which are called

the Big Five personality traits (McCrae & Costa, 1987). These traits are: neuroticism,
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extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to new experience. Each trait

correlates with many personality dimensions for which the English language has a word and

none of these traits correlates highly with any of the other four. Neuroticism is defined as a

tendency to experience unpleasant emotions frequently. It correlates positively with anxiety,

hostility, depression, and self-consciousness. Extraversion is a tendency to seek stimulation

and to enjoy the company of other people. It is associated with warmth, assertiveness, and

impulsiveness (Costa, McCrae, & Dye, 1991). These two traits are identified by both

supporters and skeptics of the Big Five model as traits relevant to much of human behavior

(Block, 1995). Agreeableness is a tendency to be compassionate toward others. It implies a

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concern for the welfare of others. Conscientiousness refers to a tendency to show self-

discipline, to be dutiful, and to strive for achievement and competence. Openness to

experience is a tendency to enjoy new intellectual experiences and new ideas (Costa, McCrae,

& Dye, 1991).

Individual differences in personality influence how a person learns and achieves

scholastically. Despite this assertion that personality traits are related to academic

performance, research about how this factor affects academic achievement is not as developed

as research on other factors related to achievement (Fenollar, Roman, & Cuestas, 2007). The

studies that have been conducted (Dollinger & Orf, 1991; Goff & Ackerman, 1992; Wolfe &

W
Johnson, 1995; Dwight, Cummings, & Glenar, 1998) have produced mixed results.
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Conscientiousness (Dwight, Cummings, & Glenar, 1998; Wolfe & Johnson, 1995) as well as

openness to experience (Dollinger & Orf, 1991) were found to positively correlate with high
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grades. Extraversion was found to have an inverse relationship with GPA (Goff & Ackerman,

1992).
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In most of these studies, grades were used to operationalize academic success. A

recent study assessed GPA as well as academic satisfaction. The researchers found that

neuroticism was positively related to academic satisfaction while conscientiousness correlates

with grades (Trapmann, Hell, Hirn, & Schuler, 2007). Heaven and Newbury (2004) assessed

adolescents' attitudes to school and self-rated academic performance. They found that

adolescent personality factors were the main predictors of adolescents' school attitudes while

parental characteristics were the only significant predictors of teenagers' self-rated academic

performance.