From Resources to Beliefs: The Mediating Roles of Parental Educational Involvement in the Association Between Parental Psychological Capital and Adolescents’ Academic Self-Efficacy in Shanxi Province, China

Parental psychological resources are important factors that may impact the academic self-efficacy of adolescents. Drawing on family systems, social cognitive, and psychological capital theories, this study employed a questionnaire survey design to examine the associations between adolescents' perceived parental psychological capital and their academic self-efficacy and to investigate the mediating role of perceived parental educational involvement. Furthermore, father- and mother-related pathways were compared to identify potential differences in both direct and indirect effects. Validated questionnaires were completed by a total of 472 students, and structural equation models were estimated separately for father- and mother-related pathways. Differences in direct effects were examined using chi-square difference tests between constrained and unconstrained models, while differences in indirect effects were assessed using bootstrapped confidence intervals. The results showed that both perceived father's psychological capital and mother's psychological capital were positively associated with adolescents' academic self-efficacy, with paternal and maternal educational involvement partially mediating these associations. Comparative analyses showed that the association between mothers' educational involvement and adolescents' academic self-efficacy was stronger than that between fathers' educational involvement and adolescents' academic self-efficacy, whereas no significant difference was found between father- and mother-related psychological capital pathways. In addition, the indirect effect through mothers' educational involvement was significantly stronger than that through fathers' educational involvement, suggesting differential parental pathways in adolescents' academic development. These findings highlight the importance of adolescents' perceptions of parental psychological resources and educational involvement in promoting academic confidence and motivation, providing practical implications for parent-focused interventions.