Psychological Development and Education ›› 2016, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (4): 409-417.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2016.04.04

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The Roles of Educational Values and Chinese Cultural Beliefs about Adversity in the Relationship between Family Financial Strain and Academic Achievement among Middle School Students

ZHAO Liyan1, LI Dongping2, XU Xiaoyan3, WANG Yanhui4, SUN Wenqiang5   

  1. 1. School of Education, Chengdu College of Arts and Sciences, Chengdu 610401;
    2. School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079;
    3. Institute of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101;
    4. School of Educational Science, Jiaying University, Meizhou 514015;
    5. College of Educational Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000
  • Online:2016-07-15 Published:2016-07-15

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Abstract: A large body of research has documented the negative impact of family financial strain on adolescent academic achievement, yet little is known about the mediating mechanism (i.e., how family financial strain impact adolescents' academic achievement?) and moderating mechanism (i.e., when the impact is most or least potent?) underlying this relation. The present study constructed a moderated mediation model based on the integration of cultural model of poverty and resilience theory to examine the mediating role of educational values and the moderating role of Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity in the direct and indirect relationship between family financial strain and academic achievement. A total of 1,613 Chinese middle school students (mean age = 13.42 years, SD = 1.22) from Sichuan Province participated in this study. They anonymously completed questionnaires regarding family financial strain, values of education, Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity, and academic achievement. The results indicated that: (a) after controlling for gender and age, family financial strain was significantly negatively associated with academic achievement; (b) educational values partially mediated the relationship between family financial strain and academic achievement; and (c) Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity buffered the indirect impact of family financial strain on academic achievement through educational values. This study demonstrated the important mediating role of “useless education” in the relationship between family financial strain and academic achievement, and confirmed the protective role of Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity in the indirect relationship between economic strain and academic achievement. Our findings have some important implications for educational practice.

Key words: family financial strain, academic achievement, educational values, Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity, middle school students

CLC Number: 

  • B844

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