UCLA

The aim of this short-term longitudinal study was to provide empirical support for the role that parental investments in children's education play in mediating the association between parental expectations and child academic outcomes. Participants were a hetergeneous sample of 426 low-income urban youth, ages 6 through 16 at the first time point of the current study. Results from regression analyses indicated that parental expectations at Time 1 predicted children's academic achievement outcomes at Time 2, assessed three years later when youth were between the ages of 10 and 18. However, indicators of parental involvement - cognitive stimulation, extracurricular activities, and parental monitoring assessed at Time 2 - did not help to explain achievement outcomes. Finally, cognitive stimulation scores among the expectation/achievement congruent groups was found to be statistically significant. Results provide support for the finding that parents' involvement in the academic performance of their youth is dynamic and responsive.