Student Directed Research Investigation

What is the link between parental behaviour towards their children and certain behavioural traits?

Introduction

Stress among students is well documented, with some studies stating children today report higher
levels of anxiety than child psychiatric patients in the 1950s. Adolescents with parents who
demonstrate a high level of control are classified as high authoritarian. Their daughters are more
likely to be more indecisive and leave tasks to the last minute. This is likely due to the lack of
decision making in childhood. Female university students are also more likely to exhibit signs of
stress and anxiety compared to their male counterparts. It was predicted that as exam dates came
closer, the anxiety of students will increase and their perception of exam difficulty will increase. This
was not fully supported as students reported decreased anxiety regarding exam difficulty.

Method

Study 1: Perceptions of parental control and the development of indecision among late adolescent
females.

86 Adolescent females report on their perception of their parent's authority style; high
authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and their tendency to procrastinate. Participants were late
adolescents (mean age of 19.1 years).

Study 2: Affective, cognitive, and behavioural differences between high and low procrastinators.

Participants were all uni students; total 379, 261 females, 117 males, 1 did not specify.
Results were collected by weekly assessments; test-anxiety scale, self-control scale. Students
completed a procrastination assessment scale, the Test Anxiety Scale, a self-control scale, and a trait
measure of attributions of success.

Image 1.0 – depicting the effects

of chronic stress on the brain.

Results

Study 1:
 Daughters who perceived both parents to be high authoritarian (n=32) showed strong
indecisive tendencies than females with permissive parents (n=23). However, females with parents
perceived as high authoritarian and females with permissive parents did not produce significantly
different procrastination habits.

Study 2:

More than 40% of students reported a high level of procrastination, this positively correlated
with a delay in self-paced quizzes and negatively correlated with GPA scores. High procrastinators, (a
higher level in females) were more likely to report more test anxiety, weekly state anxiety and
anxiety related physical symptoms compared to low procrastinators. High procrastinators were also
more likely to attribute the exam success to external and unstable factors. As midterms or deadlines
approached, both group perceived exams to be less difficult, less important, less anxiety provoking,
increased studying and study behaviour, decreased delay in self-paced tests and reported less
factors to hinder their confidence.

Image 2.0 – Physical movement has been

linked to increased brain activity and
better performance in study scores. x

Discussion

There are many variables that could have contributed to an inaccuracy and limitation in data. Study
1, where the study group determine their perception on their parent’s authority style is subjective.
By creating a test or a set of criteria for each parent group, the accuracy of the results can be
improved. Other factors such as personal life, subjects and courses studied can also affect the results
of study 2 as different courses will have different exams with varying levels of difficulty.

Both studies has valid and reliable methods, each designed to test their aim, however the
experiments should be carried out in different parts of the world with different age groups to extend
the investigation. By repeating the experiment, inaccuracies in the data can be found and developed
on.

There are minimal ethical issues in the experiment as no human or animal has the potential to suffer
consequences and damage. However patient confidentiality must be maintained as patients will be
less likely to be honest and share sensitive information which can be detrimental to their care and to
the results.
Conclusion

 It can be concluded that extreme parental control (defined as parents who exert their control and
characterized by stern inflexibility) have a great influence on their daughter’s decisional behaviour.
Females raised in high authoritarian environments are significantly more likely to develop chronic
indecisive tendencies but will not produce any different procrastination habits. There was a
correlation between added stress of examinations and reduced anxiety about tests and the difficulty
regarding them. High procrastinators are more likely to report higher levels of anxiety regarding
tests as well exhibiting higher levels of anxiety symptoms.

By performing the study on a larder study group and repeating will ensure increased validity and
precision of results. The researches should find a way to reduce subjectivity by setting a criteria that
defines each parental control type or by creating a test for the parents to undertake as well to
determine control levels.

The data cannot be applied to general population, it is specific to students.

This experiment could help teachers and people working in the education sector to learn more about
student behaviour and mental health before and during exams.

Refernces

■ American Psychological Association PsychNET. (2993). Perceptions of parental control and

the development of indecision among late adolescent females. Retrieved from
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-09065-001

■ American Psychological Association PsychNET. (n.d.). PsycNET. Retrieved from

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-09065-001

■ American Psychological Association PsycNET. (1987). Affective, cognitive, and behavioral

differences between high and low procrastinators. Retrieved from
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1987-05643-001

■ American Psychological Association. (2000, December 14). Studies Show Normal Children
Today Report More Anxiety than Child Psychiatric Patients in the 1950's. Retrieved from
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2000/12/anxiety

■ Hillman, C. H. (n.d.). The effect of acute treadmill walking on cognitive control and academic
achievement [Simplified PET scan]. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2667807/

■ KEngagement. (2017). Chronic stress on the brain [Scan]. Retrieved from

http://kengagement.uni.edu

■ PsycNET. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1987-05643-001

■ Ribeiro, I. J., & Perieria, R. (2018, June). Stress and Quality of Life Among University
Students: A Systematic Literature Review. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452301117300305