In plain language
Does the way parents raise their children shape the child's personality — and does that, in turn, affect how well the child does at school? This study followed Australian high school students across three years to find out. More than 784 students (average age 12.3 years) took part in the first year, and 563 students could be matched across all three waves. In Grade 7, researchers measured students' perceptions of their parents' style (authoritative, authoritarian, or permissive), their conscientiousness, and their verbal and numerical ability. Conscientiousness was measured again in Grade 8, and end-of-year exam results were collected in Grade 9.
On average, conscientiousness declined from Grade 7 to Grade 8 — a common pattern in early adolescence. But teenagers with more authoritative parents (warm but firm, encouraging discussion while setting clear expectations) showed significantly less of this decline than peers who started at the same baseline. Those changes mattered: students whose conscientiousness dropped more went on to earn worse grades a year later, even after accounting for their earlier academic ability.
Importantly, once prior ability and changes in conscientiousness were taken into account, authoritative parenting no longer had a direct effect on grades — its influence worked indirectly, by helping adolescents stay conscientious. This challenges earlier studies suggesting a direct link between parenting style and school achievement, and highlights conscientiousness as a key pathway through which parenting shapes academic outcomes.
Key findings
- Conscientiousness tended to decrease from Grade 7 (Time 1) to Grade 8 (Time 2), even though individual differences in the trait were highly stable across time.
- Adolescents with more authoritative parents experienced significantly less decline in conscientiousness than students with less authoritative parents and the same baseline conscientiousness.
- Decreases in conscientiousness at Time 2 predicted worse exam grades at Time 3, even after controlling for baseline verbal and numerical ability.
- Once prior ability and conscientiousness were controlled, the effect of parental authoritativeness on grades was indirect — mediated by conscientiousness — rather than direct.
- Parental authoritativeness predicted achievement in English, religious studies, and history, but not in science and math, suggesting its influence varies across academic domains.
- The findings support the plasticity principle: personality traits remain open to environmental influence, such as parenting, during adolescence.
How to cite
APA
Heaven, P. C. L., & Ciarrochi, J. (2008). Parental styles, conscientiousness, and academic performance in high school: A three-wave longitudinal study. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(4), 451-461. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167207311909
BibTeX
@article{heaven2008parental,
author = {Heaven, Patrick C. L. and Ciarrochi, Joseph},
title = {Parental Styles, Conscientiousness, and Academic Performance in High School: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study},
journal = {Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin},
year = {2008},
volume = {34},
number = {4},
pages = {451--461},
doi = {10.1177/0146167207311909}
}
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- All publications by Joseph Ciarrochi (searchable, with free PDFs)
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Author: Joseph Ciarrochi (ORCID 0000-0003-0471-8100). Free copy hosted with permission for scholarly use. Please cite the published version via the DOI above.