Relations with Parents and School and Chinese Adolescents' Self-concept, Delinquency, and Academic Performance

Current research and theory have suggested that the relational domains of family and school experiences are important to children's development. The present study thus examined how relations with parents and school were related to Chinese students' psychosocial and cognitive development in self-concept, delinquency, and academic performance. A total of 1668 secondary school students were studied, and results showed that better relation with parents was associated with higher general, academic, appearance, social, and physical ability self-concepts. Better relation with school was associated with higher academic performance, as shown in higher class rank, higher grand total exam scores, and higher scores in Chinese, English, mathematics, physical education, and music. Both poorer relations with parents and school were found to associate with more self-reported delinquency as well as more school records of misconduct.