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The Associations between Perceived Maternal Psychological Control and Academic Performance and Academic Self-Concept in Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs

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Abstract

This study examined the associations between perceived maternal psychological control and adolescent academic functioning in terms of academic performance and academic self-concept. The study also tested the possible mediating role of basic psychological needs to investigate how parental psychological control is related to child academic functioning. A sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 338) completed a self-administered questionnaire on maternal psychological control, academic self-concept, academic performance and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used for data analyses. Findings of this study revealed that Chinese adolescents’ perceptions of maternal psychological control were associated with their academic self-concept, and furthermore this association was mediated by adolescents’ basic psychological needs satisfaction on autonomy, relatedness and competence. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research directions were discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledged helpful comments made by reviewers on earlier versions of this manuscript. ML acknowledges financial support from an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA).

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  1. Department of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Cnr Musk and Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, QLD, 4059, Australia

    Min Lu, Kerryann Walsh, Sonia White & Paul Shield

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  1. Min Lu
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee. The study was approved by the Queensland University of Technology Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval number 1300000524) which operates under the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (NHMRC 2015) which, in turn, is built on principles in the Declaration of Helsinki, amended seven times since adoption in 1964 (World Medical Assoiciation 2013).

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Lu, M., Walsh, K., White, S. et al. The Associations between Perceived Maternal Psychological Control and Academic Performance and Academic Self-Concept in Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs. J Child Fam Stud 26, 1285–1297 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0651-y

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