The differential impact of parental educational anxiety and involvement on the learning engagement of middle school students

A survey of 1,040 middle school students revealed that polynomial regression analysis showed significant correlations between educational anxiety and involvement in educational activities, both among fathers and mothers. These factors influenced students’ academic engagement. Additionally, a mediating role of learning motivation was identified. The results indicated the following: (1) When fathers and mothers exhibited high levels of consistency between their educational anxiety levels and involvement in educational activities, middle school students demonstrated higher levels of academic engagement. However, in cases where fathers exhibited “high anxiety, high involvement,” the relationship tended to be inverted-U shaped, with excessively high levels of involvement potentially leading to diminishing marginal benefits. In contrast, mothers maintained a linear positive relationship with educational anxiety and involvement. (2) When fathers and mothers exhibited inconsistent levels of educational anxiety and involvement…