Adolescents and their parents’ perceptions about parenting characteristics. Who can better predict the adolescentʹs academic competence?

This study examined family factors reported by parents and their children in relation to childrenʹs academic competence. Adolescents and their parents (N=323) reported about the same family characteristics: parental acceptance and involvement in the childrenʹs education. Measures related to childrenʹs academic competence were: academic competence rated by the teacher, self-reported grades, perceived academic competence and motivational orientation. The results revealed low interrater agreement in family measures. Moreover, ratings by children about parenting characteristics seem higher than those of their parents in predicting academic-related measures. This was true especially in the case of childrenʹs reports on acceptance. However, in the case of involvement, parentʹs reports contributed towards predicting a higher number of variables.