How maternal work engagement shapes adolescent achievement: the roles of perceived maternal support and adolescent academic engagement

Abstract Grounded in self-determination theory and work–home enrichment theory, the present study investigates how maternal work engagement relates to adolescent academic achievement, focusing on the potential mediating roles of maternal support, as perceived by both mothers and adolescents, and adolescent academic engagement. The sample consisted of 237 mother–adolescent dyads, in which mothers were white-collar employees ( M age = 44.59, SD = 4.44) and adolescents were high school students aged 14 to 18 years ( M age = 15.66, SD = 1.08). Consistent with the proposed serial mediation model, maternal work engagement was indirectly associated with adolescent academic achievement through adolescents’ perceptions of maternal support and their academic engagement. These findings highlight the interconnections between work and family domains and underscore the importance of adolescents’ subjective experiences in understanding the transmission of work-related resources within families.