51P
Psychometric Reevaluation of the Parental Press for Academic Achievement and Post-Secondary Planning Scale
Research emphasizes the importance of parent involvement in school for children’s academic success, healthy development, and college matriculation. One way that parents may be involved in education is by providing support, assistance, and encouragement to their children as they learn. Parental press is a specific type of support that parents may provide throughout their children’s education. Parental press for academic achievement and postsecondary planning is defined as the normative emphasis on academic success and postsecondary education that students receive from their parents during high school. Previous researchers developed an initial measure of this type of parental press among high school seniors, yet this measure has undergone little empirical examination. The current study utilized cross-sectional survey data from low-income and first generation (LIFG) college students in the southern United States to reexamine the psychometric properties of the initial parental press for academic achievement and postsecondary planning scale (referred to as PPS).
Method
The sample was recruited from a sampling frame of 269 undergraduate students, identified as LIFG college students who were utilizing student support services. The sample size constituted 100 LIFG undergraduate students (38% of the frame). Data were collected through online and paper-pencil surveys. Additional to demographics, measures on the data instrument included the PPS and measures of its theoretically linked constructs: valuation of high school and parental support for college. The analytic strategy on the PPS was threefold: exploratory factor analysis (EFA); reliability analysis via inter-item correlations, Cronbach’s alpha and Guttman split-half coefficients; and convergent validity analysis via zero-order correlations between the PSS and aforementioned measures of its theoretically linked constructs.
Results
The majority of the sample was female (71%). Regarding ethnicity, African American (39%) represented the plurality, followed by Caucasian (37%). The EFA on the PPS revealed one underlying factor (eigenvalue 4.735), accounting for 63% of the variance. All PPS items loaded on this factor, with loadings from .652 to .892. Reliability of the PPS was robust: inter-item correlations ranged from .40 to .91; Cronbach’s alpha and split-half coefficients were .918 and .923, respectively. Evidence of convergent validity was indicated via significant, bivariate correlations between the PPS and measures of its theoretically similar constructs: valuation of high school (r = .32, p < .01) and parental support for college (r = .82, p < .01).
Conclusions and Implications:
The results of the psychometric testing indicated support for the reliability and factorial validity of the PPS. The use of this measure could provide social workers with valuable information about parental press; and, in turn, may document specific areas for school- and community-based social workers to focus their practice. This measure may be used in future research to further examine parent involvement in education, particularly in relation to college readiness and preparation. Future research should continue to examine the use of this measure in multiple settings, and in relation to other variables that may be related to children’s academic success in secondary and postsecondary education.