Family Influences on Educational Expectations of Late Adolescents

Abstract Using national data, the author examined the influence of family and parenting variables on expectations regarding education. Demographic, family, and parenting variables were reported by adolescents and parents while the adolescents were seniors in high school, and educational expectations were reported by adolescents 2 years beyond high school. Socioeconomic status (SES) was most strongly related to educational expectations. Adolescents' perceptions of parents' personal involvement and parents' reports of their own behavior were both related to educational expectations. Also, both seemed to interact with SES. Variables quantifying the affective dimension of family relationships were only weakly related to educational expectations.