Longitudinal Investigation into the Role of Perceived Social Support in Adolescents' Academic Motivation and Achievement.

We examined (a) the relative importance of perceived social support from parents, peers, and teachers; (b) the consequences associated with different types of perceived social support; and (c) the mediation by achievement goals in the relationship between perceived social support and academic outcomes. We analyzed the first 3 waves of the Korean Educational Longitudinal Study 2005 data (Y. Kim et al., 2007), which followed students from Grade 7 to Grade 9 in middle school. Compared with the other 2 social agent groups, support from parents predicted the widest variety of adolescent motivation and achievement indexes. Parental emotional support was most beneficial, predicting stronger mastery goals, weaker performance-avoidance goals, lower test anxiety, and higher academic achievement than any other type of support. Parental academic support functioned as a double-edged sword, predicting not only stronger mastery goals but also stronger performance-approach goals, stronger performance-avoidance goals, and higher test anxiety. Achievement pressure from teachers had the same predictive relationships but was weaker in strength. Perceived emotional support from teachers was not as effective as that from parents in predicting adolescent motivation achievement; however, perceived academic support from teachers was helpful for adolescents in predicting stronger mastery goals. Support from peers worked as a buffer against maladaptive motivation, predicting weaker performance-avoidance goals and lower test anxiety. Mastery goals mediated the relationship between social support and academic achievement, whereas performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals mediated the relationship between social support and test anxiety. The same patterns emerged consistently for all 3 years at middle school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

[1]  J. Reeve,et al.  Longitudinal Test of Self-Determination Theory's Motivation Mediation Model in a Naturally Occurring Classroom Context , 2012 .

[2]  Frank M. Pajares,et al.  Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings , 1996 .

[3]  Kim Myoung-So,et al.  A Study on the Validation of the Korean Version of the Revised Self-Leadership Questionnaire(RSLQ) for Korean College Students , 2009 .

[4]  R. Felner,et al.  A prospective study of life stress, social support, and adaptation in early adolescence. , 1992, Child development.

[5]  V. Helgeson,et al.  Sex Differences in Coping Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review and an Examination of Relative Coping , 2002 .

[6]  Siegfried Macho,et al.  Estimating, testing, and comparing specific effects in structural equation models: the phantom model approach. , 2011, Psychological methods.

[7]  M. Bong,et al.  Self-efficacy and achievement goals as motivational links between perceived contexts and achievement , 2014 .

[8]  Jenn-Yun Tein,et al.  Longitudinal measurement models in evaluation research: Examining stability and change , 1996 .

[9]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[10]  Eric M. Anderman,et al.  Social Predictors of Changes in Students' Achievement Goal Orientations. , 1999, Contemporary educational psychology.

[11]  A. Elliot,et al.  A 2 X 2 achievement goal framework. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[12]  I. Sarason,et al.  Experimentally provided social support , 1986 .

[13]  W. Hartup,et al.  Friendships and adaptation in the life course. , 1997 .

[14]  Richard M. Ryan,et al.  Representations of Relationships to Teachers, Parents, and Friends as Predictors of Academic Motivation and Self-Esteem , 1994 .

[15]  Toni M. Kempler,et al.  “What's Everybody So Excited About?”: The Effects of Teacher Enthusiasm on Student Intrinsic Motivation and Vitality , 2000 .

[16]  T. J. Berndt,et al.  Friendship and Friends' Influence in Adolescence , 1992 .

[17]  W. Meeus,et al.  Social Support from Parents and Friends and Emotional Problems in Adolescence , 2000 .

[18]  Tim Urdan,et al.  Predictors of Academic Self-Handicapping and Achievement: Examining Achievement Goals, Classroom Goal Structures, and Culture. , 2004 .

[19]  Kathryn R. Wentzel,et al.  Social supports from teachers and peers as predictors of academic and social motivation , 2010 .

[20]  Self-Concept Variables.  Sex Differences in , 2016 .

[21]  C. Midgley,et al.  Development during adolescence. The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents' experiences in schools and in families. , 1993, The American psychologist.

[22]  Christine K. Malecki,et al.  The Relationship between Social Support and Student Adjustment: A Longitudinal Analysis. , 2005 .

[23]  Melita Puklek Levpušček,et al.  Math Achievement in Early Adolescence , 2009 .

[24]  T. J. Berndt,et al.  The Features and Effects of Friendship in Early Adolescence. , 1982 .

[25]  Mimi Bong,et al.  Within-Grade Changes in Korean Girls' Motivation and Perceptions of the Learning Environment Across Domains and Achievement Levels. , 2005 .

[26]  J. Graham,et al.  Missing data analysis: making it work in the real world. , 2009, Annual review of psychology.

[27]  Social support as a mediator for musical achievement , 2015 .

[28]  A. Elliot,et al.  Test anxiety and the hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation. , 1999, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[29]  Michael J. Middleton,et al.  Performance-Approach Goals: Good for What, for Whom, under What Circumstances, and at What Cost?. , 2001 .

[30]  Kathryn R. Wentzel,et al.  Social-motivational processes and interpersonal relationships: Implications for understanding motivation at school. , 1999 .

[31]  K. E. Barron,et al.  Revision of achievement goal theory: Necessary and illuminating. , 2002 .

[32]  T. Goetz,et al.  Academic emotions from a social-cognitive perspective: antecedents and domain specificity of students' affect in the context of Latin instruction. , 2006, The British journal of educational psychology.

[33]  A. Ryan,et al.  Early Adolescents' Perceptions of the Classroom Social Environment, Motivational Beliefs, and Engagement. , 2007 .

[34]  Mimi Bong,et al.  Age-Related Differences in Achievement Goal Differentiation. , 2009 .

[35]  Geoffrey Bird,et al.  Development during Adolescence of the Neural Processing of Social Emotion , 2009, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[36]  Reed W. Larson,et al.  The Korean ‘Examination Hell’: Long Hours of Studying, Distress, and Depression , 2000 .

[37]  M. E. Mitchell,et al.  Measurement strategies in social support: a descriptive review of the literature. , 1993, Journal of clinical psychology.

[38]  C. Goodenow.  Classroom Belonging among Early Adolescent Students , 1993 .

[39]  J. Harackiewicz,et al.  Achievement Goal Theory at the Crossroads: Old Controversies, Current Challenges, and New Directions , 2011 .

[40]  M. Browne,et al.  Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit , 1992 .

[41]  J. Brophy.  Goal Theorists Should Move on From Performance Goals , 2005 .

[42]  David W. Johnson,et al.  Social Interdependence and Classroom Climate , 1983 .

[43]  T. J. Berndt,et al.  Developmental Changes in Conformity to Peers and Parents , 1979 .

[44]  S. Michie,et al.  Psychological and Behavioral Responses to Genetic Test Results Indicating Increased Risk of Obesity: Does the Causal Pathway from Gene to Obesity Matter? , 2009, Public Health Genomics.

[45]  K. Yeung,et al.  Academic Stressors and Anxiety in Children: The Role of Paternal Support , 2010 .

[46]  Michael J. Middleton,et al.  Avoiding the demonstration of lack of ability: An underexplored aspect of goal theory. , 1997 .

[47]  Changkook Yang,et al.  Age-Related Changes in Sleep/Wake Patterns Among Korean Teenagers , 2005, Pediatrics.

[48]  U. Kim,et al.  Family, Parent-Child Relationship, and Academic Achievement in Korea , 2006 .

[49]  Jürgen Baumert,et al.  Students' and mathematics teachers' perceptions of teacher enthusiasm and instruction , 2008 .

[50]  U. Bronfenbrenner.  Ecology of the family as a context for human development: research perspectives , 1986 .

[51]  Wondimu Ahmed,et al.  Perceived Social Support and Early Adolescents’ Achievement: The Mediational Roles of Motivational Beliefs and Emotions , 2008, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[52]  K. Wentzel.  Social Relationships and Motivation in Middle School: The Role of Parents, Teachers, and Peers , 1998 .

[53]  K. Wentzel.  Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical caring. , 1997 .

[54]  G. Ladd.  Having friends, keeping friends, making friends, and being liked by peers in the classroom: predictors of children's early school adjustment? , 1990, Child development.

[55]  Carol Midgley,et al.  Teachers' Communication of Goal Orientations in Four Fifth-Grade Classrooms , 2001, The Elementary School Journal.

[56]  Birgit Spinath,et al.  Development of self-perceived ability in elementary school: the role of parents’ perceptions, teacher evaluations, and intelligence , 2005 .

[57]  C. Midgley,et al.  Student, Teacher, and Observer Perceptions of the Classroom Environment Before and after the Transition to Junior High School , 1988 .

[58]  H. Markus,et al.  Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. , 1991 .

[59]  Rex B. Kline,et al.  Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling , 1998 .

[60]  R. Larson,et al.  Daily companionship in late childhood and early adolescence: changing developmental contexts. , 1991, Child development.

[61]  Thomas J. Bemdt,et al.  The Features and Effects of Friendship in Early Adolescence , 2005 .

[62]  E. Deci,et al.  Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. , 2010 .

[63]  Jung-Sook Lee,et al.  The effects of the teacher–student relationship and academic press on student engagement and academic performance , 2012 .

[64]  Andrew J. Elliot,et al.  Perceptions of Classroom Environment, Achievement Goals, and Achievement Outcomes. , 2001 .

[65]  C. Midgley,et al.  Student/teacher relations and attitudes toward mathematics before and after the transition to junior high school. , 1989, Child development.

[66]  S. Cross,et al.  Models of the self: self-construals and gender. , 1997, Psychological bulletin.

[67]  T. Wills,et al.  Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. , 1985, Psychological bulletin.

[68]  Kathryn R. Wentzel,et al.  Peer Relationships, Motivation, and Academic Performance at School. , 2005 .