The Influence of Parents, Peer Delinquency, and School Attitudes on Academic Achievement in Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian or Mien, and Vietnamese Youth

Abstract

Past research on academic achievement has tended to overlook the diversity among Asian American groups and the educational and socioeconomic difficulties that many Asians, particularly Southeast Asians, face. The present study addressed several shortcomings of past research by contrasting parent attachment and discipline, peer delinquency, and school attitudes as predictors of self-reported grade point average in 329 Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian or Mien, and Vietnamese youth. Results revealed that parental factors generally did not contribute much explanatory power and that school attitudes may mediate the relationship between peer delinquency and academic achievement. Interventions aimed at promoting positive adjustment and school outcomes should focus on the role of delinquent peer affiliations and youth’s attitudes toward school.