Child Development
Volume 68, Issue 2, 1997, Pages 351-363

The Academic Achievement of Adolescents from Immigrant Families: The Roles of Family Background, Attitudes, and Behavior (Article)

Fuligni A.J.*
  • a Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine the relative impact of family background, parental attitudes, peer support, and adolescents' own attitudes and behaviors on the academic achievement of students from immigrant families. Approximately 1,100 adolescents with Latino, East Asian, Filipino, and European backgrounds reported on their own academic attitudes and behaviors as well as those of their parents and peers. In addition, students' course grades were obtained from their official school records. Results indicated that first and second generation students received higher grades in mathematics and English than their peers from native families. Only a small portion of their success could be attributed to their socioeconomic background; a more significant correlate of their achievement was a strong emphasis on education that was shared by the students, their parents, and their peers. These demographic and psychosocial factors were also important in understanding the variation in academic performance among the immigrant students themselves.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

Aspirations (Psychology) psychological aspect Adolescent Psychology motivation human Internal-External Control control socialization achievement Humans family attitude Adolescent male child psychology female Parent-Child Relations peer group Article migration Emigration and Immigration child parent relation

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0031110470&partnerID=40&md5=0592259fe57f16b022643a5e4e33abd5

ISSN: 00093920
Cited by: 412
Original Language: English