Parents and children in Romania : the influence of family culture dimensions on parental involvement in children's academic life

Abstract

The present study investigates the relation between family culture and parental involvement in children's academic life, in a sample of Romanian 15 year olds (N=1596) from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2005-2006 survey. We aimed at tapping into which components of family culture, as conceptualized in the HBSC framework, account as predictors for school-related parental support, when controlling for students' gender. Results point out that parental support is significantly predicted by mother bonding, followed by parental monitoring (both mother and father), family life and enjoyment of activities. From a research perspective, the findings of the present study bring forward differential parental influences on adolescents' school life in Romania, which need to be further investigated. From a school counseling perspective, they point out relevant directions for the assessment of family factors in the Romanian context and they indicate guidelines for parental education in school and family interventions aimed at increasing parental academic support. (Oana Negru, Lavinia Damian, Adriana Baban