School Success of Early Adolescents: The Role of Personal and Family Determinants

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine unique contributions of different dimensions of students’ temperament (self-control, positive affectivity and negative affectivity), students’ emotional regulation, students’ adjustment problems (the presence of internalizing and externalizing symptoms), and students’ perception of parental behavior of their mothers and fathers (parental dimensions of emotionality, acceptance and rejection) in explaining their school success. The sample consisted of 553 students (275 girls and 278 boys) mean age of 13 years. By using hierarchical regression analysis, the results obtained in the subsample of boys revealed a significant and unique contribution of students’ temperament, emotional regulation and parental behavior in explaining the variability of school success. Boys who are more prone to anger but are less fearful, who regulate their emotions effectively, and who perceive to be accepted by their mothers and fathers, have higher levels of school success. On the subsample of girls, only emotional regulation has a significant and positive contribution in the explanation of their school success; girls who regulate their emotions effectively have higher grades.