Factors Influencing Students’ Motivation and Academic Performance: The Role of Parental Control and Autonomy Support

Abstract

Background. The study examines the role of control and autonomy support as two of the most important factors in parenting. A scientific analysis of the consequences of parental control and support for autonomy is necessary both to deepen theoretical understanding of the role of autonomy in relations between parents and children and to develop sound practical recommendations. Objective. The goal is to analyse the direct and indirect (through academic motivation) links of autonomy support and parental control in childhood with the academic achievements of students. Study Participants. Russian university students (N = 281, MA = 19.8, SD = 2.01, 78% female). Methods. Parenting style in childhood (P-PASS), academic motivation, including scales of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation, and average academic performance were assessed. Results. The main hypothesis about the positive association between parental autonomy support in childhood and the academic achievements of students, mediated by intrinsic academic motivation, was confirmed. It has been shown that the controlling style is a predictor of external motivation and amotivation, which in turn are negatively related to intrinsic motivation. Conclusion. Results of the study indicate the important role of parental practices, differentiated within self-determination theory for the students’ (de) motivation and academic performance. In particular, the importance of autonomy support and the negative contribution of parental control are shown at much later stages of socialization, the stage of emerging adulthood.

Keywords

• parents
• autonomy support
• parental control
• academic motivation
• academic performance
• university students