The Mother-Child Relationship and Other Antecedents of Academic Performance: A Causal Analysis

Abstract

Observational measures of mother-child interaction, home environment, demographic variables, and maternal attitudes were used in developing two causal models for classroom and achievement test performance for 86 Mexican American children. These models were tested by path analysis. Maternal attitudes stressing independence and achievement, and years of mother's education promoted the child's intellectual performance at 3 years of age, and also contributed to a mother-child interaction style thought to promote cognitive competence. Performance on an achievement test and in the classroom during the elementary school years was also positively influenced by maternal education and early intellectual stimulation of the child. In addition, performance in the classroom was less language bound and more influenced by maternal attitudes than was achievement test performance. These results are discussed in light of previous research and the relationship between maternal child rearing and various indices of cognitive development.