Parenting environment and scholastic archievement: A restrospective study

The current paper examines how two parenting styles (the degree to which parents provided an overly protective environment, and a warm and loving environment) relate to educational achievement. We expected that a warm and loving upbringing and an upbringing that is not overly protective would contribute to success at school. Data on the educational careers of 986 Dutch adults aged 18-30 years were gathered both retrospectively and longitudinally. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. The results partly supported our expectations: respondents who felt that their parents provided a warm and loving upbringing dropped out less frequently than others while having had overprotective parents was associated with a longer stay at school and a lower level of education when leaving full-time education, even after controlling other variables. However, warm and loving parenting styles were also associated with a longer stay at school. © 1996 OPA (Overseas Publishers Association).