Influence of Parents, Peer Delinquency, and School Attitudes on Academic Achievement in Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian or Mien, and Vietnamese Youth

• NCJ Number: 209293
• Journal: Crime & Delinquency Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2005 Pages: 238-264
• Author(s): Janet Chang; Thao N. Le
• Date Published: April 2005
• Length: 27 pages
• Grant Number(s): R49/CCR918619-01
• Sponsoring Agency: Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study addressed several shortcomings of past research by comparing parental attachment and discipline, peer delinquency, and school attitudes as predictors of self-reported grade-point average for 329 Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian or Mien, and Vietnamese juveniles.

Abstract

All of the youth were between 10 and 19 years old and enrolled in either a middle school or high school in Oakland, CA, where there are high concentrations of Asian and Pacific Islander groups. The number of males and females were nearly equally distributed among these groups. Juveniles in the Chinese, Cambodian, and Laotian or Mien groups were primarily second generation; whereas, nearly half of the Vietnamese youth were first generation. The primary variables, which were previously used and validated in a national study of adolescent delinquency, encompassed demographics, school attitudes, parental attachment, parental discipline, peer delinquency, and academic achievement. Results are reported from descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, structural equation models, and estimated path coefficients. For all ethnic groups, school attitudes significantly predicted academic achievement, indicating the importance of school-related behaviors and educational aspiration and expectancies in determining grades. In addition, there were significant positive associations between school attitudes and parental attachment across the groups. As predicted for Cambodians and Laotian or Mien youth, but contrary to expectations for the other groups, parental attachment and discipline were generally not important predictors of academic achievement; however, parental attachment was a significant negative predictor of academic achievement and was negatively correlated with peer delinquency for Vietnamese youth. It may be that parental attachment is perceived by Vietnamese youth as a form of excessive control, particularly if youth and parents experience intergenerational conflict. Study limitations are noted, and implications of the findings for interventions are discussed. 7 tables, 1 figure, and 44 references