Family capital, children's individual attributes, and adolescents' aspirations: a follow-up analysis.

In this follow-up study of an earlier investigation (Marjoribanks, 1992), relationships were examined between family capital, children's individual attributes, immediate family settings, and adolescents' aspirations. There were 500 Australian adolescents (250 girls, 250 boys) and their parents in the sample. The results of this study and of the earlier investigation suggest that (a) family environmental contexts are moderately to largely associated with children's academic performances and adolescents' aspirations; (b) relationships between family contexts, children's individual attributes, and adolescents' aspirations are mediated fully or in part by adolescents' perceptions of their parents' support for learning; and (c) there are gender-related differences in the nature of the associations among family capital, individual attributes, immediate family settings, and adolescents' aspirations.