Parental Communication Quality and Academic Achievement: A Socioemotional Pathway Model

Abstract

This study examines how the quality of parental communication relates to children's academic achievement and whether this relationship operates through socio-emotional well-being. Building on family systems, attachment, and ecological perspectives, the study poposes a socio-economical pathway model in which open , emotionally responsive and supportive parent-child communication strengthens student's emotional regulation,academic self-concept,motivation, and psychological well-being, which in turn enhances academic engagement and performance. A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design in proposed to test both direct and indirect effects among parental communication quality, socio-emotional well-being , and academic achievement.Datas are collected from secondary-level students using standardized measures of parent-adolescent communication and validated socio-emotional well-being indicators, while academic achievement is assessed through objective school records(e.g., GPA and standardized examination scores). Mediation is examined using confirmatory factoranalysis and structural equation modeling with bootstrapped indirect effects, controlling for gender, parental education, and househols income .  The model anticipates a positive direct association between parental communication and academic achievement, a strong positive association between parental communication and socio-emotional well-being, and a positive association between socio-emotional well-being and academic achievement. The expected findings highlight socio-emotional well-being as a key mechanism explaining how family communication translates into educational success and offer implications for family-focused interventions and school strategies that strengthen supportive communication and socio-emotional competencies  to improve student outcomes.