Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West PY-170, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada.
J Youth Adolesc. 2013 Sep;42(9):1331-47. doi: 10.1007/s10964-013-9987-4. Epub 2013 Aug 1.
Successful academic performance during adolescence is a key predictor of lifetime achievement, including occupational and social success. The present study investigated the important transition from primary to secondary schooling during early adolescence, when academic performance among youth often declines. The goal of the study was to understand how risk factors, specifically lower family resources and male gender, threaten academic success following this "critical transition" in schooling. The study involved a longitudinal examination of the predictors of academic performance in grades 7-8 among 127 (56 % girls) French-speaking Quebec (Canada) adolescents from lower-income backgrounds. As hypothesized based on transition theory, hierarchical regression analyses showed that supportive parenting and specific academic, social and behavioral competencies (including spelling ability, social skills, and lower levels of attention problems) predicted success across this transition among at-risk youth. Multiple-mediation procedures demonstrated that the set of compensatory factors fully mediated the negative impact of lower family resources on academic success in grades 7-8. Unique mediators (social skills, spelling ability, supportive parenting) also were identified. In addition, the "gender gap" in performance across the transition could be attributed statistically to differences between boys and girls in specific competencies observed prior to the transition, as well as differential parenting (i.e., support from mother) towards girls and boys. The present results contribute to our understanding of the processes by which established risk factors, such as low family income and gender impact development and academic performance during early adolescence. These "transitional" processes and subsequent academic performance may have consequences across adolescence and beyond, with an impact on lifetime patterns of achievement and occupational success.
青少年时期学业成功是终身成就的关键预测因素，包括职业和社会成功。本研究调查了青少年早期从小学到中学的重要过渡时期，在此期间，年轻人的学业成绩往往会下降。该研究的目的是了解风险因素，特别是较低的家庭资源和男性性别，如何在学校教育的这一“关键过渡”之后威胁学业成功。该研究对来自低收入背景的 127 名（56%为女孩）说法语的魁北克（加拿大）青少年在 7-8 年级的学业成绩的预测因素进行了纵向考察。基于过渡理论的假设，层次回归分析表明，支持性的父母教养和特定的学业、社会和行为能力（包括拼写能力、社交技能和较低的注意力问题水平）预测了在这一过渡时期高风险青少年的成功。多重中介程序表明，补偿因素集完全中介了较低家庭资源对 7-8 年级学业成功的负面影响。还确定了独特的中介因素（社交技能、拼写能力、支持性的父母教养）。此外，过渡期间表现出的“性别差距”可以归因于男孩和女孩在过渡前观察到的特定能力差异，以及对女孩和男孩的不同教养（即母亲的支持）。本研究结果有助于我们理解既定风险因素（如低家庭收入和性别）如何在青少年早期影响发展和学业成绩的过程。这些“过渡”过程以及随后的学业成绩可能会在整个青春期及以后产生后果，对终身成就和职业成功模式产生影响。
