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Family and Individual Contexts of Middle-School Years and Educational Achievement of Youths in Middle-Aged Adulthood

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  • Jerf W. K. Yeung

    (Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China)

  • Lily L. L. Xia

    (Department of Sociology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310085, China)

Abstract

Although educational development of youths can profoundly affect their other domains of health and well-being across later life trajectories, little research has investigated the prolonged effects of family and individual contexts of youths in middle-school years, a most critical developmental and formative stage, on their educational achievement in middle-aged adulthood. The current study employed data of a nationwide representative sample of middle-school youth students in the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY) to examine how grade-7 parental support for college education, family SES, and educational expectations of youths contribute to their educational achievement in adulthood of mid-thirties through their development of grade-8 academic commitment and grade-9 educational performance in terms of English, mathematics, science, and social studies grade scores. Results based on structural equation modeling of longitudinal relationship found that grade-7 parental support for college education, family SES, and educational expectations of youths had significant and direct effects on youths’ higher educational achievement in adulthood, and youths’ grade-8 academic commitment and grade-9 educational performance significantly mediated the effects of grade-7 family SES, parental support for college education, and educational expectations of youths on their educational achievement in adulthood respectively and/or concurrently. Furthermore, interaction analysis supported the promotive but not buffering effects of grade-7 educational expectations of youths by family SES on their grade-9 educational performance and educational achievement in adulthood. Implications related to the important findings of the current study pertaining to educational development of youths are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jerf W. K. Yeung & Lily L. L. Xia, 2023. "Family and Individual Contexts of Middle-School Years and Educational Achievement of Youths in Middle-Aged Adulthood," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-19, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3279-:d:1066879
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Dante D. Dixson & Dacher Keltner & Frank C. Worrell & Zena Mello, 2018. "The magic of hope: Hope mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and academic achievement," The Journal of Educational Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 111(4), pages 507-515, July.
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