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Relationships of parents’ and child’s general attributional styles to academic performance

Social Psychology of Education volume 13, pages 351–365 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

This study examined the relationships among student academic performance and child’s and parents’ attributional styles. One hundred seventy-nine students (87 boys and 92 girls) who were enrolled in primary public schools in New South Wales, Australia, and their parents volunteered to participate in the study. Only English-speaking, two-parent families were included. Participants completed age-appropriate attributional style questionnaires. Academic performance was obtained from student records of course grades. The results indicated that both mothers’ and fathers’ attributions for their own positive and negative life events were related to their children’s attributions for their academic performance. We present implications of these results for research on attributions and academic performance.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Khodayarifard

  2. Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, P.O. Box X034, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132, USA

    Thomas M. Brinthaupt

  3. Department of Health and Human Performance, Middle Tennessee State University, P.O. Box 96, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132, USA

    Mark H. Anshel

Authors
  1. Mohammad Khodayarifard
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  2. Thomas M. Brinthaupt
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  3. Mark H. Anshel
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Correspondence to Thomas M. Brinthaupt.

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Khodayarifard, M., Brinthaupt, T.M. & Anshel, M.H. Relationships of parents’ and child’s general attributional styles to academic performance. Soc Psychol Educ 13, 351–365 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-010-9114-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-010-9114-2

Keywords

  • Attribution theory
  • Achievement motivation
  • Parenting