![]() For example, high levels of prosocial behavior, that is, intrinsically-motivated behavior intended to benefit other people ( Beutel & Johnson, 2004 Zaki & Mitchell, 2011), has been linked to lower levels of externalizing and internalizing symptoms in children ( Flouri & Samardi, 2016 Flynn, Ehrenreich, Beron, & Underwood, 2015 Zimmer-Gembeck, Hunter, & Pronk, 2007), as well as to higher academic achievement and greater subjective well-being ( Chen, Rubin, & Li, 1997).īy contrast, extrinsic motivations are thought to function more as a substitute or stand-in for true need satisfaction, and are often considered a means to an end ( Grouzet, Kasser, Ahuvia, Dols, Kim, et al., 2005 Kasser, 2002 Lekes, Hope, Gouveia, Koestner, & Philippe, 2012). Intrinsic goals are thought to satisfy basic psychological needs of relatedness, competence, and growth, promoting overall well-being. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT Ryan & Deci, 2000), extrinsic motivations are generally viewed as counter to intrinsic ones, which are pursued for their own sake and oriented toward personal growth, interpersonal intimacy, and community ( Deci & Ryan, 2000 Kasser, 2002). The pressure to achieve, along with other extrinsic motivations governed by external rewards and sources of approval such as the quest for good grades, acceptance to top universities, and financial success, have been associated with elevated levels of maladjustment, chronic stress, decreased well-being, and inconsistent academic engagement ( Garn & Jolly, 2014 Deci & Ryan, 2000 Leonard et al., 2015). In light of this pressure to achieve, it is not surprising that among the weightiest stressors reported by contemporary youth are: doing well in school and getting into college ( American Psychological Association, 2009 Leonard, Gwadz, Ritchie, Linick, Cleland, et al., 2015). Parents, all too aware of the competition and high stakes associated with college admissions, are thought to contribute to the mounting achievement pressure on children by raising academic expectations and emphasizing excellence ( Garn, Matthews, & Jolly, 2010 Grolnick & Seal, 2008 Mudrak, 2011). ![]() News & World Report, 2014) and rising rates of underemployment and unemployment for recent graduates ( Abel, Dietz, & Su, 2014). Today's young people face more competition for academic and career achievement than any previous generation, a reality that includes declining college acceptance rates (NCES, Snyder & Dillow, 2015 U.S. Results of the study suggest that to foster early adolescents' well-being in affluent school settings, parents focus on prioritizing intrinsic, prosocial values that promote affiliation and community, at least as much as, or more than, they prioritize academic performance and external achievement and strive to limit the amount of criticism and pressure they place on their children. In variable-based analyses, interaction effects showed elevated maladjustment when high maternal achievement emphasis coexisted with high (but not low) perceived parental criticism. Class comparisons showed a consistent pattern of healthier child functioning, including higher school performance, higher self-esteem, and lower psychological symptoms, in association with low to neutral parental achievement emphasis, whereas poorer child functioning was associated with high parental achievement emphasis. Person-based analyses revealed six distinct latent classes based on perceptions of both mother and father emphases on achievement. The data also included students' reports of perceived parental criticism, internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and self-esteem, as well as school-based data on grade point average and teacher-reported classroom behavior. ![]() ![]() Students reported their perceptions of parents' values by rank ordering a list of achievement- and prosocial-oriented goals based on what they believed was most valued by their mothers and fathers for them (the child) to achieve. The data were collected from 506 (50% female) middle school students from a predominately white, upper-middle-class community. In this study of affluent, middle-school youth, we examined how perceptions of parents' emphasis on achievement (relative to prosocial behavior) influenced youth's psychological adjustment and school performance, and examined perceived parental criticism as a possible moderator of this association. High achievement expectations and academic pressure from parents have been implicated in rising levels of stress and reduced well-being among adolescents. ![]()
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