Differential effects of parental involvement on cognitive and behavioral outcomes by socioeconomic status

Abstract Parental involvement is a much investigated area of research. Unfortunately, there are many conflicting findings. In some cases, researchers claim parental involvement positively affects academic achievement, while others claim parental involvement negatively affects academic achievement. Finally, a third grouping of studies find parental involvement has no significant relationship to academic achievement. A parallel body of research investigating the forces affecting dropping out has also been developed. Unfortunately, little research has actually attempted to link the various dimensions of parental involvement to dropping out or other at-risk behavioral outcomes, such as truancy (one exception being Astone and McLanahan 1991). Using the concepts of cultural and social capital, I provide a theoretical framework for why there would exist differential effects of parental involvement across cognitive (e.g., science achievement) and behavioral (e.g., truancy and dropping out) outcomes. I further investigate the variable relationships between involvement and each outcome by socioeconomic status. Findings indicate that parental involvement is generally a salient factor in explaining behavioral but not cognitive outcomes, with greatest support for parent-child discussion and involvement in Parent-Teacher organizations. Findings also indicate that specific dimensions of involvement have greater effects for upper SES students. These findings can be considered preliminary support for the contention of Bourdieu (1977) and Lareau (1989) that the greater levels of cultural capital possessed by the members of the upper class magnifies parental involvement’s effect for advantaged students.