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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
This article is part of the Research Topic Cognitive Benefits of Technologies Applied to Learning in Education View all 16 articles

Parents' Rearing Styles and Adolescents' Math Achievement: The Multiple Mediating Effect of Self-Control and Math Anxiety

Provisionally accepted
Yanjiao Wang Yanjiao Wang 1*Lei Han Lei Han 2Yang Tao Yang Tao 3yanyan ma yanyan ma 4
  • 1 East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
  • 2 Lanzhou Petrochemical Polytechnic, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
  • 3 Lanzhou No.91 Middle School, lanzhou, China
  • 4 Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This cross-sectional study examined the mechanisms underlying adolescent math achievement by investigating the relationship between parents' rearing styles (including different dimensions of rearing style) and adolescent self-control, math anxiety, and math achievement based on the ecological systems theory. Method: A total of 584 junior high school students (M age =12.52) completed the Parenting Style Questionnaire, Self-control Scale, and Math Anxiety Rating Scale and provided their math test scores. Results: The rearing styles of both fathers and mothers directly predicted adolescents' math achievement. Maternal rearing style indirectly predicted adolescents' math achievement through their self-control and math anxiety; however, the indirect effect of paternal rearing style on adolescents' math achievement was not significant. After distinguishing the three dimensions of rearing styles, we found that paternal emotional warmth can increase adolescents' selfcontrol, while maternal emotional warmth can reduce adolescents' self-control. Further, paternal overprotectiveness can directly and positively predict adolescents' math achievement, while maternal rejection and overprotectiveness can positively predict adolescents' math achievement. None of the three dimensions of rearing styles can predict math achievement through adolescents' self-control; however, they can predict math achievement indirectly through adolescents' math anxiety and the chain-mediation of adolescents' self-control and math anxiety. Discussion: Our results suggest both commonalities and differences in how paternal and maternal rearing styles, along with their three dimensions (emotional warmth, rejection, overprotection), predict adolescent math achievement. These findings highlight the importance of paternal and maternal rearing styles on adolescents' math achievement and underscore the need to examine them separately to better understand their impact.

    Keywords: parents' rearing styles, Self-Control, Math Anxiety, Math Achievement, Adolescent

    Received: 26 Apr 2024; Accepted: 23 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Han, Tao and ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yanjiao Wang, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.