Perception of Parental Attitudes and General Academic Achievement of High School Students: a Russian-Kyrgyz Study

Abstract

Objective. Cross-cultural analysis of the perception of parental attitudes and its influence on the general academic performance of high school students from Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Background. The characteristics of parental attitudes are closely related not only to the child’s educational success during life in the family, but also to educational achievements in the future. At the same time, the sociocultural specifics of parent-child relationships, through the perception of a growing child, can change the direction and magnitude of such associations. Study design. The characteristics of the relationship between mothers and fathers – emotional acceptance and overprotection – by high school students from two countries differing in socio-economic status are analyzed. A cross-cultural analysis of the structure of associations between the characteristics of the perception of parental attitudes and academic performance is carried out. Participants. The study analyzed data from 528 students in grades 10–11 from Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Russian sample: 230 people (M = 17,31; SD = 0,7), 58,1% girls. Kyrgyz sample: 298 people (M = 17,21; SD = 0,7), 67,6% girls. Measurements. Russian-language version of the questionnaire “Parental Bonding Instrument” (T.N. Tikhomirova, D.A. Gaysina, S.B. Malykh, 2021). Results. At high school age, the perception of parental attitude has a culture-specific conditioning, most clearly expressed in the perception of emotional acceptance by the mother and the overprotective attitude of the father. Conclusions. Given the existence of a universal model of the influence of parental attitudes on the general academic performance of high school students, cross-cultural specificity of functional associations within the model is observed, which is more characteristic of the perception of the attitudes of fathers rather than mothers.