Parent‐Specific Effects of Maternal and Paternal Parenting on Adolescents' Academic Achievement: Mediating Role of Character Strengths and Moderating Role of Gender

INTRODUCTION: Although parenting is a crucial component of the family psychosocial environment and a known influence on academic performance, less is known about the underlying mechanisms and gendered pathways involved. The present study investigated the mediating role of character strengths in the relationship between parenting and academic achievement and the moderating role of gender using a longitudinal design. METHODS: = 13.55, SD = 0.82, at T1). The Chinese version of Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Simplified Chinese version of Character Strength Scale for Adolescents were administered to assess their perceived parenting and their character strengths at T1, and the evaluation of academic achievement was based on the scores in Chinese and mathematics collected from school after 1 year (at T2). RESULTS: The results showed that positive parenting could significantly predict adolescents' Chinese and mathematics achievement by affecting their character strengths. Additionally, paternal negative parenting negatively predicted adolescents' Chinese achievement. Moreover, the relationship between positive parenting and character strengths was moderated by gender. Specifically, maternal positive parenting had a stronger influence on girls' character strengths than boys', while paternal positive parenting significantly contributed to character strengths among boys but not girls. CONCLUSIONS: The findings revealed how parenting affects adolescents' character strengths and then contributes to their academic achievement, and highlighted the unique roles of different parental bonding styles in this relationship, which provided a reference for improving academic achievement from a strength-based perspective.