The Impact of Parents and Teachers on Externalizing Behavior Among Latino/a Adolescents via Academic Achievement: Combining the Mental Health and Educational Perspectives

Abstract

Given the Latino adolescents’ heightened risk of externalizing behaviors and academic disparities experienced by Latino adolescents, this study unifies the mental health and educational perspectives to better understand factors that impact the externalizing behavior among them. Eco-developmental theory was used to conceptualize the link between parenting factors, academic factors, and externalizing behavior. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the effects of parental support, parental monitoring knowledge, and the adolescent–teacher relationship on externalizing behavior through academic achievement (mediator), in a pool of 508 Latino adolescents from the West Texas area. Findings show that maternal support, the adolescent–teacher relationship, and academic achievement to be negatively related to externalizing behavior. In addition, maternal support and the adolescent–teacher relationship were positively associated with academic achievement. Finally, the results demonstrated academic achievement as a mediating factor in the inverse relationship between adolescent–teacher relationship and externalizing behaviors. Implications are further discussed.