The Influence of Parenting Styles, Achievement Motivation, and Self-Efficacy on Academic Performance in College Students

Parenting styles have consistently been shown to relate to various outcomes such as youth psychopathology, behavior problems, and academic performance. Building on the research in the parenting style literature, along with examining components of self-determination theory, the present study examined the relations among authoritative parenting style, academic performance, self-efficacy, and achievement motivation using a sample of college students (N = 264) . Results indicated that authoritative parenting continues to influence the academic performance of college students, and both intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy predicted academic performance. Additionally, the study tested the interaction between self-efficacy and authoritative parenting, but the interaction was not significant. Implications for future research and applications are discussed.