Relationships among socioeconomic status, family relationships, and academic achievement

Research suggests that there are many factors that are related to students\u27 academic achievement. For this study, socioeconomic status, parenting styles, and family relationships are investigated in relationship to academic achievement, as identifying variables that may be related to academic achievement may prove important in implementing interventions that are used to increase academic achievement. Participants (N = 169, 3 5 males and 134 females) at a large Southeastern university are presented with a series of questionnaires that measure demographic information (including academic achievement as measured by participants\u27 grade point average and standardized test scores), parenting styles, family relationships, and motivation to achieve academically. Results suggest that socioeconomic status is not related significantly to parenting styles or family characteristics but is related marginally to academic achievement. Results also suggest that fathers \u27 authoritarianism is related to participants\u27 academic achievement in terms of what they aim for. Results of this study further indicate that various family characteristics are related significantly to academic achievement. These findings emphasize the importance of research investigating the relationships among socioeconomic status, parenting styles, family characteristics, and academic achievement