Perceptions of parents’ educational expectations, academic support from friends and psychological and school adjustment in immigrant-origin adolescents

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore the predictive value of parents’ academic expectations and academic support in the psychological adjustment of immigrant adolescents. The participants were 228 first- and second-generation immigrants enrolled in the senior year at six secondary schools in Catalonia. Through questionnaires, the students reported their perceptions of parents’ expectations and the academic support received from their peers, while the teaching staff evaluated the students’ psychological adjustment to the school environment. The results suggest that both parents’ expectations and perceived academic support are linked to psychological adjustment. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that peers’ academic support significantly predicts school psychological adjustment. However, parents’ expectations in the long term turn out to be better predictors of almost all the variables in immigrant-origin adolescents’ psychological and academic adjustment.