# Parental Educational Involvement and Academic Delay of Gratification Among Chinese Adolescents: The Chain-Mediating Role of Self-Control and Consideration of Future Consequences

## TL;DR

This study explores how parental involvement in education helps Chinese adolescents delay gratification through self-control and future thinking.

## Contribution

The study identifies a chain-mediating mechanism involving self-control and future consequences in the relationship between parental involvement and academic delay of gratification.

## Key findings

- Parental educational involvement significantly predicts academic delay of gratification (β = 0.117, p < 0.001).
- Self-control and future consequences mediate the relationship between parental involvement and academic delay of gratification.
- Three mediating pathways were identified, including a chain mediation of self-control and future consequences (β = 0.015).

## Abstract

Parental educational involvement is a pivotal factor associated with an individual’s academic development; however, its specific association with academic delay of gratification and the underlying mechanisms remain not fully understood. Drawing upon ecosystem theory, this study examined a serial mediation model to explore the links between parental educational involvement and academic delay of gratification, focusing on the mediating roles of self-control and consideration of future consequences. A cross-sectional design was employed, involving 726 junior high school students. Data were collected using the Parental Educational Involvement Scale, Academic Delay of Gratification Scale, Self-Control Scale, and Consideration of Future Consequences Scale, with statistical analyses performed via SPSS 26.0 and the PROCESS macro. The results indicated that: (1) parental educational involvement, academic delay of gratification, self-control, and consideration of future consequences were positively correlated with each other in a pairwise manner; (2) academic delay of gratification was significantly predicted by parental educational involvement (β = 0.117, p < 0.001); (3) self-control and consideration of future consequences play a mediating role in the relationship between parental education involvement and academic delay of gratification. There are three mediating pathways involved in this process: the individual mediating role of self-control (β = 0.092, 95% CI [0.054, 0.133]), the individual mediating role of consideration of future consequences (β = 0.030, 95% CI [0.015, 0.050]) and the chain mediating role of self-control and consideration of future consequences (β = 0.015, 95% CI [0.008, 0.024]). This study examined the internal mechanism between parental educational involvement and academic delay of gratification, which is helpful in improving junior middle school students’ ability to engage in academic delay of gratification.