Parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’ math achievement: the multiple mediating effect of self-control and math anxiety

Abstract

Introduction
This cross-sectional study examined the mechanisms underlying adolescent math achievement by investigating the relationship between parents’ rearing styles (including different dimensions of rearing style) and adolescent self-control, math anxiety, and math achievement based on the ecological systems theory.

Method
A total of 584 junior high school students (M age = 12.52) completed the Parenting Style Questionnaire, Self-control Scale, and Math Anxiety Rating Scale and provided their math test scores.

Results
The rearing styles of both fathers and mothers directly predicted adolescents’ math achievement. Maternal rearing style indirectly predicted adolescents’ math achievement through their self-control and math anxiety; however, the indirect effect of paternal rearing style on adolescents’ math achievement was not significant. After distinguishing the three dimensions of rearing styles, we found that paternal emotional warmth can increase adolescents’ self-control, while maternal emotional warmth can reduce adolescents’ self-control. Further, paternal overprotectiveness can directly and positively predict adolescents’ math achievement, while maternal rejection and overprotectiveness can positively predict adolescents’ math achievement. None of the three dimensions of rearing styles can predict math achievement through adolescents’ self-control; however, they can predict math achievement indirectly through adolescents’ math anxiety and the chain-mediation of adolescents’ self-control and math anxiety.

Discussion
Our results suggest both commonalities and differences in how paternal and maternal rearing styles, along with their three dimensions (emotional warmth, rejection, overprotection), predict adolescent math achievement. These findings highlight the importance of paternal and maternal rearing styles on adolescents’ math achievement and underscore the need to examine them separately to better understand their impact.

Full text

Frontiers in Psychology 01 frontiersin.org
Parents’ rearing styles and
adolescents’ math achievement:
the multiple mediating eect of
self-control and math anxiety
YanjiaoWang
1*, LeiHan
2, YangTao
3 and YanyanMa
4
1 School of Psychology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, China, 2 Lanzhou Petrochemical
University of Vocational Technology, Lanzhou, China, 3 Lanzhou No.91 Middle School, Lanzhou,
China, 4 Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
Introduction: This cross-sectional study examined the mechanisms underlying
adolescent math achievement by investigating the relationship between parents’
rearing styles (including dierent dimensions of rearing style) and adolescent
self-control, math anxiety, and math achievement based on the ecological
systems theory.
Method: A total of 584 junior high school students (M age = 12.52) completed
the Parenting Style Questionnaire, Self-control Scale, and Math Anxiety Rating
Scale and provided their math test scores.
Results: The rearing styles of both fathers and mothers directly predicted
adolescents’ math achievement. Maternal rearing style indirectly predicted
adolescents’ math achievement through their self-control and math anxiety;
however, the indirect eect of paternal rearing style on adolescents’ math
achievement was not significant. After distinguishing the three dimensions
of rearing styles, we found that paternal emotional warmth can increase
adolescents’ self-control, while maternal emotional warmth can reduce
adolescents’ self-control. Further, paternal overprotectiveness can directly and
positively predict adolescents’ math achievement, while maternal rejection
and overprotectiveness can positively predict adolescents’ math achievement.
None of the three dimensions of rearing styles can predict math achievement
through adolescents’ self-control; however, they can predict math achievement
indirectly through adolescents’ math anxiety and the chain-mediation of
adolescents’ self-control and math anxiety.
Discussion: Our results suggest both commonalities and dierences in
how paternal and maternal rearing styles, along with their three dimensions
(emotional warmth, rejection, overprotection), predict adolescent math
achievement. These findings highlight the importance of paternal and maternal
rearing styles on adolescents’ math achievement and underscore the need to
examine them separately to better understand their impact.
KEYWORDS
parents’ rearing styles, self-control, math anxiety, math achievement, adolescent
OPEN ACCESS
EDITED BY
Beatriz Peña-Acuña,
University of Huelva, Spain
REVIEWED BY
María Del Pilar Alcolea Pina,
Catholic University San Antonio of Murcia,
Spain
Isabel Iniesta-Alemán,
International University of La Rioja, Spain
Teresa Gema Martín Casado,
Universidad de Valladolid, Spain
*CORRESPONDENCE
Yanjiao Wang
psy_yanjiao@126.com
RECEIVED 26 April 2024
ACCEPTED 23 September 2024
PUBLISHED 16 October 2024
CITATION
Wang Y, Han L, Tao Y and Ma Y (2024)
Parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’ math
achievement: the multiple mediating eect of
self-control and math anxiety.
Front. Psychol. 15:1413899.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
COPYRIGHT
© 2024 Wang, Han, Tao and Ma. This is an
open-access article distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License (CC BY). The use, distribution or
reproduction in other forums is permitted,
provided the original author(s) and the
copyright owner(s) are credited and that the
original publication in this journal is cited, in
accordance with accepted academic
practice. No use, distribution or reproduction
is permitted which does not comply with
these terms.
TYPE Original Research
PUBLISHED 16 October 2024
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 02 frontiersin.org
1 Introduction
Math is a fundamental discipline in the elds of science,
technology, and engineering (STEM) and one of the best predictors of
success therein (Fong etal., 2021; Le and Robbins, 2016). Math
achievement, typically measured by students’ scores in standardized
math tests, is a crucial metric for assessing learning outcomes,
comprehension, and mastery. It also serves as a signicant reference
factor for students’ academic advancement and career development
(Fong etal., 2021; St Omer and Chen, 2023). Adolescence is a critical
period in children’s development, during which math achievement is
closely linked to negative emotions such as academic boredom
(Borgonovi etal., 2023), which further inuence children’s future
career choices and developmental trajectories (Toh and Watt, 2022).
ere are at least two theories that can explain the factors that
inuence adolescents’ math achievement—ecological systems and
social cognitive theories. Ecological systems theory suggests that
children’s math achievement is aected by both individual and
environmental factors (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Similarly, social
cognitive theory holds that environmental and children’s individual
factors will have a decisive impact on their math achievement and
other accomplishments (Bandura, 1997; Zimmerman, 1989). Based
on this, previous studies have found that parents’ rearing styles, as an
important environmental factor, and adolescents’ self-control and
math anxiety, as important individual factors, all play an important
role in adolescents’ math achievement (Bardach etal., 2023; Barroso
et al., 2021; Pinquart, 2015). However, previous studies have not
revealed the complex nature of this relationship. us, this study
aimed to extensively investigate the relationship between parents’
rearing styles and adolescents’ self-control, math anxiety, and math
achievement from the perspective of both environmental and
individual factors. is could help enhance the understanding of the
underlying mechanisms aecting adolescents’ math achievement and
provide guidance for improvement.
1.1 Parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’
math achievement
As the primary context in which children rst interact with the
outside world, the family is the most direct micro-environment
aecting children’s development (Underdown, 2007). Within this
micro-environment, parents’ rearing styles are closely related to
adolescents’ math achievement (Ogg and Anthony, 2020). Parents’
rearing styles encompass both the attitudes conveyed by parents and
the emotional atmosphere created by their behavior and can
be categorized as positive or negative. Positive rearing styles are
characterized by emotional warmth and care, an emphasis on
communication and understanding, and the encouragement of
autonomy and independence. Conversely, negative rearing styles are
marked by a lack of emotional communication, excessive severity,
control, and rejection (Li et al., 2019; Ogg and Anthony, 2020).
According to the autonomy-supportive parenting and distance-
conicted family theories (Guo etal., 2021), aective, encouraging,
and related parenting styles are characterized by support and
autonomy, whereas rejection- and control-based parenting styles are
characterized by distance and conict. e parenting style based on
supporting autonomy is more inclusive and creates a more relaxed and
pleasant atmosphere at home, making it easier to cultivate children to
produce positive results in school and other aspects. Contrastingly, the
parenting style based on distance and conict may cause tension and
exert pressure on children, which may hinder their academic
development (Guo et al., 2021). Regarding children’s math
achievement, empirical studies have found that parenting styles based
on autonomy and support features, such as the emotional warmth
style, are conducive to the improvement of adolescents’ math
performance, while those based on rejection are linked to a reduction
in adolescents’ math achievement (Retanal etal., 2021). is reveals
that dierent parenting styles have varying eects on adolescents’
math achievement. To elucidate these varying eects and
comprehensively explore the relationship between parents’ rearing
styles and adolescents’ math achievement, wesubdivided the specic
dimensions of dierent rearing styles.
Most studies have only focused on the combined inuence of
parents (i.e., fathers and mothers) (Wang and Fletcher, 2015). Recent
research, including the male breadwinner-female housewife model,
has suggested signicant dierences in paternal and maternal rearing
styles owing to gender, roles, and division of labor between parents
(Du etal., 2021; Waismel-Manor and Levanon, 2024). Moreover, this
dierence leads to variations in the eects of paternal and maternal
rearing styles on adolescents’ cognition and behavior (Moilanen etal.,
2014). erefore, by considering paternal and maternal rearing styles
separately, wecan have a clear understanding of the specic eect of
parents’ rearing styles on adolescents’ math achievement, which would
enable more targeted prevention and intervention eorts. us, by
distinguishing the rearing styles of fathers and mothers, this study
examines the relationship between the sub-dimensions of parental
rearing and adolescents’ math achievement.
1.2 Relationship between parents’ rearing
styles and adolescents’ self-control and
math achievement
Self-control is a crucial psychological function that allows
individuals to voluntarily regulate unwarranted thoughts, emotions,
and behaviors in alignment with societal norms to support the
achievement of long-term goals (Li et al., 2019; Muraven and
Baumeister, 2000). Previous studies have found that eective self-
control can improve adolescents’ social adaptability and reduce their
risk of substance use, emotional problems, and aggressive behavior (Li
etal., 2019; Li etal., 2023a; Rodríguez-Ruiz etal., 2023; Tangney etal.,
2004), as well as alleviate family conict and academic burnout in
adolescents (Luo etal., 2020). Additionally, self-control can improve
academic performance, specically in math (Duckworth etal., 2019).
Empirical studies have shown that self-control is positively correlated
with math achievement (Cleary and Chen, 2009; Cleary and Kitsantas,
2017; Dent and Koenka, 2015). e self-control strength model
(Muraven, 2010; Muraven and Baumeister, 2000), self-determination
theory (Husain, 2023; Peterson etal., 2020; Wang etal., 2022), social
cognitive theory (Martin, 2004; Zimmerman, 1989), and other
theories support the view that self-control is closely related to
academic achievement in subjects such as math. For example, social
cognitive theory suggests that students with strong self-control oen
exhibit higher self-ecacy, which boosts their condence in
completing tasks, increases their willingness to put eort into and

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 03 frontiersin.org
persist in mathematical learning, and ultimately enhances their
chances of achieving good results in math (Martin, 2004;
Zimmerman, 1989).
e ecological systems theory posits that parents’ rearing styles
constitute a crucial component of the family environment. Parents’
rearing styles signicantly guide and shape the development of
adolescents’ self-control (Li etal., 2019; Pallini etal., 2018; Yang etal.,
2023) and can indirectly do so through factors such as family
atmosphere and parent–child relationships (Moilanen etal., 2014;
Mun etal., 2018). For example, emotional warmth and other positive
rearing styles, provide adolescents with appropriate care and support
and reasonably limit and guide their behavior, enabling them to
achieve balanced development in self-cognition, emotional regulation,
and behavior control. In contrast, rejection-based and other negative
rearing styles, are more likely to cause parents to ignore the needs of
adolescents, provide insucient guidance and education, and lack
necessary care and support. As a result, adolescents may struggle to
develop eective self-control (Abedini et al., 2012; Li etal., 2014;
Moilanen etal., 2014). Similar ndings have been observed across
dierent cultural backgrounds and age groups (Finkenauer etal.,
2005; Li etal., 2023b; Yang et al., 2023), suggesting that parents’
rearing styles may aect adolescents’ self-control, with parents and
their specic parenting styles potentially having varying eects on
self-control. In addition, considering the relationship between parents’
rearing styles (and their dierences) and adolescents’ math
achievement, as well as adolescents’ self-control and math
achievement, this study proposes the following hypotheses:
H1: Adolescents’ self-control mediates the relationship between
parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’ math achievement.
However, this mediating role diers between parents (i.e., paternal
or maternal rearing styles).
H2: e above mediating eect is also related to the specic
rearing style adopted by fathers or mothers (for example, whether
it is emotional warmth or rejection).
1.3 Relationship between parents’ rearing
styles and adolescents’ self-control, math
anxiety, and math achievement
How does self-control impact adolescents’ math achievement?
First, multiple theories have explained the relationship between self-
control and emotions (Burt, 2020; King and Gaerlan, 2014). For
instance, according to the cognitive theory of emotion, individual
cognition can aect emotion and is the key factor determining the
nature of emotion (Brewin, 1996; Oatley and Johnson-Laird, 2014).
Compared to adolescents with eective self-control, those with poor
self-control are more likely to experience negative emotions such as
math anxiety, which can beexacerbated by reduced self-ecacy (Jain
and Dowson, 2009). In addition, according to the motivational theory
of emotion, children’s math anxiety can reduce their interest and
motivation in learning math by negatively impacting their enthusiasm
and initiative. is lack of emotion and motivation may result in
insucient investment in math learning, ultimately leading to reduced
math achievement (John etal., 2020; Wang etal., 2015). Research
based on behavioral tests has conrmed that individuals with
increased math anxiety tend to avoid math problems (Choe etal.,
2019); this, in turn, hinders math achievement (Wang etal., 2021).
erefore, weformulate the following hypothesis:
H3: Adolescents’ math anxiety plays a mediating role in the
relationship between self-control and math achievement.
In addition, previous research has indicated that parents’ rearing
styles may aect adolescents’ math anxiety. For example, Macmull and
Ashkenazi (2019) have found that controlling and punishing rearing
styles are associated with adolescents’ high math anxiety, and the more
supportive and encouraging rearing styles lower adolescents’ math
anxiety. Based on the relationship between parents’ rearing styles and
adolescents’ math achievement, and the relationship between
adolescents’ math anxiety and math achievement, we posit the
following hypotheses:
H4: Adolescents’ math anxiety mediates the relationship between
the specic rearing style adopted by parents (e.g., emotional
warmth) and adolescents’ math achievement. Moreover, the
mediating eect of math anxiety between paternal rearing style
and adolescents’ math achievement is dierent from that between
maternal rearing style and adolescents’ math achievement because
of the possible dierences between paternal and maternal
parenting styles.
H5: Adolescents’ self-control and math anxiety play a chain
mediating role between parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’
math achievement. is chain mediation may berelated to each
parent (e.g., the paternal versus maternal rearing styles).
H6: The chain mediating role of adolescents’ self-control
and math anxiety in the relationship between different
dimensions of parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’ math
achievement varies.
is study draws on ecological systems theory and considers both
environmental and individual factors aecting adolescents. From the
perspectives of both fathers and mothers, this study explores the
relationships between paternal and maternal rearing styles (including
the emotional warmth, rejection, and overprotection dimensions) and
adolescents’ self-control, math anxiety, and math achievement.
2 Materials and methods
2.1 Participants
This study employed a convenience sampling method to
conduct a collective questionnaire survey in December 2023 with
students from two full-time middle schools in Lanzhou, China.
A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed. Sixteen
participants were excluded due to incomplete or unserious
responses, resulting in 584 valid questionnaires with an effective
response rate of 97.33%. The sample consisted of 278 male
(47.60%) and 306 female (52.40%) students, ranging in age from
12 to 15 years, with an average age of 12 years (M = 12.52,
SD = 1.04). The studies involving human participants were

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 04 frontiersin.org
reviewed and approved by the Scientific Research Ethics
Committee of the School of Psychology of Northwest Normal
University (Approval No. 2023101). The study was conducted in
the schools after verbal informed consent had been provided by
the heads of middle schools and the children’s parents.
2.2 Measures
2.2.1 Parents’ rearing styles
is study used the Chinese version of the parental bonding
instrument (PBI), which was translated and revised by Jiang etal.
(2010). e original scale is divided into two parts for paternal and
maternal rearing styles, with a total of 42 items. e scale comprises
three dimensions: rejection, emotional warmth, and overprotection,
which include six, seven, and eight items, respectively. All the items
are scored on a ve-point Likert scale, with higher subscale scores
indicating a stronger tendency toward a particular rearing style. e
average scores for the three dimensions of emotional warmth,
rejection, and overprotection were calculated separately for fathers
and mothers. e emotional warmth dimension was used to assess
positive rearing styles, whereas the rejection and overprotection
dimensions were used to assess negative rearing styles (Li, 2018).
e Cronbach’s alpha coecients for the three dimensions for the
fathers and mothers ranged from 0.72 to 0.85, indicating
good reliability.
2.2.2 Self-control scale
e study employed the Chinese version of the self-control dual-
system scale (Xie etal., 2014). is scale comprises 21 items and is
divided into two subscales: impulsive system and control system. e
impulsive system includes three dimensions: impulsivity,
distractibility, and low delay of gratication. e control system
encompasses two dimensions: problem-solving and future time
perspective. e scale uses a ve-point Likert scale (1 = “strongly
disagree”; 5 = “strongly agree”). In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for the
overall scale was 0.71.
2.2.3 Math anxiety scale
e study employed the Chinese version of the Mathematics
Anxiety Rating Scale for children, which was originally developed by
Suinn and Winston (2003). e Chinese version is considered an
eective tool for assessing math anxiety among Chinese adolescents
(Wu, 2014). e scale comprises 27 items and uses a ve-point Likert
scale (1 = “not anxious at all”; 5 = “extremely anxious”). e adolescents
reported their anxiety levels, with higher scores indicating higher
levels of anxiety. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for the overall scale
is 0.87.
2.2.4 Math achievement
Data on participants’ math achievement were obtained from
school records, specically the average scores of their two most recent
major math examinations. Previous studies have found that
performance in math courses eectively reects academic achievement
in Chinese children (Chen etal., 1997; Ding etal., 2012). During data
analysis, weconverted the math scores of all participants in this study.
e resulting Z-scores were used as the nal metric for analyzing
math achievement.
2.3 Procedure
is study targeted rst- and second-year junior high school
students and conducted assessments in stages. Before administering
the tests, math or homeroom teachers were requested to exclude
children with sensory decits or intellectual disabilities. Subsequently,
the tests were conducted in classrooms, with each class assigned two
rigorously trained psychology professionals with extensive experience
in administering psychological tests as the primary testers. e testers
collected data on the adolescent parents’ parenting styles, the
adolescents’ self-control, math anxiety, and math scores on the last two
major examinations. Prior to answering the questionnaires, the
primary testers provided detailed instructions to the participants and
answered their questions. e instructions emphasized the
signicance of the survey and the condentiality of the results and
required participants to respond independently based on their actual
situations. Aer the administration, the questionnaires were collected
by the primary testers. Questionnaire administration and score
collection were conducted with the consent of both the students and
the schools. e participants were given 25 min to complete the
questionnaires and received a small gi upon completion.
2.4 Analysis
SPSS 26.0 was used for the three-stage statistical analysis. First,
wetested the skewness of each variable and performed a correlation
analysis. Second, aer standardizing all variables and evaluating
multicollinearity by testing the variance ination factor (VIF), a
mediating analysis was performed to test: (1) Whether paternal and
maternal rearing styles have the same predictive eect on adolescents’
math achievement and if there are any dierences of the predictive
eect of the three dierent rearing styles on adolescents’ math
achievement; (2) Whether adolescents’ self-control plays a mediating
role in the relationship between paternal and maternal rearing styles
and adolescents’ math achievement, and whether it plays the same role
between the three dierent rearing styles and adolescents’ math
achievement; (3) Whether adolescents’ math anxiety plays a mediating
role in the relationship between their self-control and math
achievement; and (4) Whether adolescents’ self-control and math
anxiety play a chain-mediating role in the relationship between
paternal and maternal rearing styles and math achievement, and
whether the three dierent rearing styles play the same role in the
chain-mediating relationship.
For the above analyses, we established two models with
adolescents’ math achievement as the dependent variable. In the rst
model, paternal (maternal) rearing style was the independent variable,
and self-control and math anxiety were the mediating variables. In the
second model, the three dimensions of rearing style (emotional
warmth, rejection, overprotection) were the independent variables,
and self-control and math anxiety were mediating variables.
Finally, wefurther veried the mediation eect of the above
model. e PROCESS macro in SPSS (Hayes, 2013) was used to
calculate the predictive eects of independent variables on dependent
variables in each model. is included both the direct eects of
independent variables on mediating variables and the direct eects of
mediating variables on dependent variables, as well as the indirect
eects of independent variables on dependent variables through

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 05 frontiersin.org
mediating variables. e indirect eects of the size of the bias-
corrected bootstrapped condence interval (95% CI) (10,000 samples)
without zero indicated that the mediation eect was signicant;
otherwise, it was deemed not signicant. e results of the mediation
analysis were reported aer standardization.
3 Results
3.1 Descriptive statistics
e mean, standard deviation, and correlation matrix of paternal
and maternal rearing styles and adolescents’ self-control, math
anxiety, and math achievement are shown in Table 1. Aer
distinguishing the three dimensions of rearing styles, the mean,
standard deviation, and correlation matrix of variables are shown in
Table2. e skewness analysis shows that the skewness values of each
variable were between −1 and 1, indicating that there was no serious
skewness distribution. Moreover, aer normalizing all variables, the
variance ination factor was less than 10, indicating no
multicollinearity issues.
3.2 Mediating analysis of rearing styles,
self-control, math anxiety, and math
achievement
e mediation analysis revealed that paternal rearing style
positively predicted adolescents’ self-control (β = 0.083, p = 0.044)
(Figure1). Adolescents’ self-control positively predicted their math
anxiety (β = 0.229, p < 0.001). Paternal rearing style positively
predicted adolescents’ math achievement (β = 0.114, p = 0.003).
Adolescents’ math anxiety negatively predicted their math
achievement (β= −0.419, p< 0.001). Paternal rearing style did not
signicantly predict adolescents’ math anxiety (β= 0.041, p= 0.310),
and adolescents’ self-control did not signicantly predict their math
achievement (β= 0.027, p= 0.488). Moreover, maternal rearing style
positively predicted adolescents’ self-control (β= 0.128, p= 0.002).
Both maternal rearing style (β= 0.083, p= 0.041) and adolescents’ self-
control (β= 0.222, p< 0.001) positively predicted adolescents’ math
anxiety. Maternal rearing style positively predicted adolescents’ math
achievement (β = 0.158, p < 0.000). Adolescents’ math anxiety
negatively predicted their math achievement (β= −0.428, p< 0.001),
while self-control had no signicant predictive eect on math
achievement (β= 0.018, p= 0.637). In addition, the mediation eect
analysis found that the mediation eect of paternal rearing style on
the three paths of math achievement was not signicant (Table3).
ere was a signicant chain-mediated eect of adolescents’ self-
control and math anxiety on the relationship between maternal
rearing style and adolescents’ math achievement [95CI (−0.028,
0.001), without passing 0].
To investigate the relationship between the three dimensions of
rearing style and adolescents’ self-control, math anxiety, and math
achievement, weexplored these connections from both the perspective
of fathers and mothers. e results show that there are both similarities
and dierences between the three dimensions of paternal and
maternal rearing styles and adolescents’ self-control, math anxiety,
and math achievement (Table 4). Specically, paternal emotional
warmth positively predicted adolescents’ self-control, while maternal
emotional warmth negatively predicted adolescents’ self-control. Only
paternal overprotection positively predicted adolescents’ math
achievement, while both maternal rejection and overprotection
positively predicted adolescents’ math achievement. e similarity is
that both paternal and maternal rejection and overprotection
positively predicted adolescents’ self-control. Both paternal and
maternal emotional warmth negatively predicted adolescents’ math
TABLE1 Correlation analysis of the relationship between parents’ rearing styles and adolescent’ self-control, math anxiety and math achievement.
Variable M ± SD 1 2 3 4
1 Parents’ rearing styles 57.22±8.95 - 0.08*0.06 0.09*
2 Self-control 57.53±9.81 0.13** -0.23** −0.06
3 Math anxiety 75.93±20.09 0.11** 0.23** -−0.41**
4 Math achievement 71.13±28.99 0.11** −0.06 −0.41** -
M ± SD 58.48±9.21 Same above Same above Same above
Data of father on the diagonal line, data of mother on the diagonal line, *p< 0.05; **p< 0.01; ***p< 0.001.
TABLE2 Correlation analysis of the three dimensions of rearing style and adolescent’ self-control, math anxiety and math achievement.
Variable M ± SD 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Emotional warmth 24.98±6.81 - −0.41** −0.35** −0.11** −0.30** 0.18**
2. Rejection 13.66±5.03 −0.40** –0.68** 0.18** 0.28** −0.06
3. Overprotection 18.59±5.14 −0.34** 0.72** –0.12** 0.24** −0.02
4. Self-control 57.53±9.81 −0.09*0.19** 0.16** –0.23** −0.06
5. Math anxiety 75.93±20.09 −0.23** 0.27** 0.22** 0.23** –−0.41**
6. Math achievement 71.13±28.99 0.15** −0.03 0.04 −0.06 −0.41** -
M ± SD 25.81±6.51 13.60±5.02 19.07±5.33 57.53±9.81 75.93±20.09 71.13±28.99
Data of father on the diagonal line, data of mother below the diagonal line. *p< 0.05; **p< 0.01; ***p< 0.001.

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 06 frontiersin.org
FIGURE1
Relationship between paternal and maternal rearing styles and
adolescents’ self-control, math anxiety, and math achievement.
TABLE3 The mediating eect of self-control and math anxiety on the relationship between parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’ math achievement.
Pathways Paternal Maternal
Indirect eects SE 95%CI Indirect eects SE 95%CI
RS → SC → MAc 0.002 0.005 −0.006, 0.016 0.002 0.007 −0.009, 0.018
RS → MAn → MAc −0.017 0.020 −0.056, 0.023 −0.036 0.021 −0.078, 0.006
RS → SC → MAn → MAc −0.008 0.007 −0.023, 0.004 −0.012 0.007 −0.028, −0.001
Total indirect eect of
RS → MAc
−0.023 0.020 −0.061, 0.016 −0.045 0.021 −0.088, −0.005
RS, rearing styles; SC, self-control; MAc, math achievement; MAn, math anxiety.
anxiety, but they had no signicant predictive eect on adolescents’
math achievement. Rejection and overprotection by both fathers and
mothers were positive predictors of adolescents’ math anxiety. In
addition, adolescents’ self-control consistently positively predicted
their math anxiety, and adolescents’ math anxiety consistently
negatively predicted their math achievement.
e results of the mediation eect test show that the mediating
eects of adolescents’ self-control between paternal (maternal)
emotional warmth and math achievement, paternal (maternal)
rejection and math achievement, and paternal (maternal)
overprotection and math achievement were not signicant (Table5).
However, adolescents’ math anxiety had a signicant mediating eect
between paternal (maternal) emotional warmth and adolescents’ math
achievement, paternal (maternal) rejection and math achievement,
and paternal (maternal) overprotection and math achievement.
Moreover, adolescents’ self-control and math anxiety had signicant
chain-mediated eects in the chain between paternal (maternal)
emotional warmth and math achievement, paternal (maternal)
rejection and math achievement, as well as paternal (maternal)
overprotection and math achievement.
4 Discussion
Based on the ecosystem theory, this study examined the
relationship between parents’ rearing style and adolescents’ self-
control, math anxiety, and math achievement from the perspective of
both environmental and individual factors inuencing adolescents’
math achievement. To our knowledge, this is the rst study to examine
separately the relationship between paternal and maternal rearing
styles (including the three dimensions of rearing styles) and adolescent
self-control, math anxiety, and math achievement. Wefound that both
paternal and maternal rearing styles were positive predictors of
adolescents’ math achievement. In addition to the signicant chain-
mediated eect of adolescents’ self-control and math anxiety between
maternal rearing style and adolescents’ math achievement, the (chain-
mediated) eect of adolescents’ self-control and math anxiety between
paternal rearing style and math achievement, and the mediating eect
of adolescents’ self-control (math anxiety) between maternal rearing
style and adolescents’ math achievement were not signicant. Aer
distinguishing the rearing styles’ three dimensions, this study further
found that adolescents’ math anxiety always plays a mediating role
between the three dimensions of paternal and maternal rearing styles
and math achievement, adolescents’ self-control and math anxiety
play a chain mediating role between the three dimensions of paternal
and maternal rearing styles and math achievement. e mediating
eect of adolescents’ self-control on the three dimensions of paternal
and maternal rearing styles and math achievement was not signicant.
However, the specic parenting styles adopted by fathers and mothers
dier in their predictive eects on adolescents’ math achievement. e
above results are not entirely consistent with our expectations. e
results suggest that although paternal and maternal rearing styles both
directly predict adolescents’ math achievement, their indirect
prediction eects on adolescents’ math achievement vary. Moreover,
there are similarities and dierences between the three dimensions of
the paternal and maternal rearing styles in predicting adolescents’
math achievement through math anxiety and the mediating role of
self-control and math anxiety.
In this study, wefound that both paternal and maternal rearing
styles positively predicted adolescents’ math achievement, which is
consistent with ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). is study
further found that paternal and maternal emotional warmth, rejection,
and overprotection predict adolescent math achievement through
math anxiety and the chain mediation of self-control and math
anxiety, enriching the ecosystem and social cognition theories. ese
results are also consistent with those of research based on the
relationship between parents’ (paternal and maternal) rearing styles
and adolescents’ math anxiety (Jin etal., 2024; Wang etal., 2023), as

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 07 frontiersin.org
well as previous meta-analysis and recent follow-up studies that found
a close relationship between adolescent math anxiety and math
achievement (Barroso etal., 2021; St Omer and Chen, 2023). Some
studies have found that both parental emotional warmth and rejection
can predict adolescent depression and other emotions (Li etal., 2024;
Wang et al., 2023). Moreover, parental emotional warmth and
rejection are associated with adolescent personality development and
creativity (Guo etal., 2021). ese results indicate that less emotional
warmth of both fathers and mothers will increase adolescents’ math
anxiety, which is not conducive to the improvement of math
achievement. Further, the higher the level of overprotection and
rejection, the higher the adolescents’ math anxiety, which is also not
conducive to the improvement of adolescents’ math achievement.
However, both fathers and mothers should pay attention to their
rearing styles as they are important for adolescents’ math achievement
and healthy growth.
While both paternal and maternal rearing styles positively
predict math achievement, the predictive eects of paternal and
maternal rearing styles on adolescent math achievement vary. is
variation is mainly reected in the following three aspects. First, the
indirect predictors of math achievement dier between paternal and
maternal rearing styles. e paternal rearing style does not predict
adolescent math achievement through self-control, math anxiety, or
the chain mediation between self-control and math anxiety; however,
the maternal rearing style does predict math achievement through
the chain mediation between self-control and math anxiety. is may
berelated to the dierent roles and division of labor between fathers
and mothers in housework. For example, according to the male
breadwinner-female housewife model, in most Chinese families,
fathers are more focused on working or earning a living, while
mothers are more focused on family and childcare (Waismel-Manor
and Levanon, 2024). erefore, maternal rearing styles predict
TABLE4 Standard coecients between the three dimensions of paternal and maternal rearing styles and self-control, math anxiety, and math
achievement.
Pathways Paternal Maternal
Emotional warmth → Self-control 0.112** −0.093*
Rejection → Self-control 0.183*** 0.186***
Overprotection → Self-control 0.115** 0.159**
Emotional warmth → Math anxiety −0.281*** −0.210***
Rejection → Math anxiety 0.240*** 0.231***
Overprotection → Math anxiety 0.215*** 0.191***
Emotional warmth → Math achievement 0.060 0.060
Rejection → Math achievement 0.025 0.079*
Overprotection → Math achievement 0.083*0.138**
Self-control→ Math achievement 0.201***/0.188***/0.207*** 0.213***/0.189***/0.202***
Math anxiety → Math achievement −0.396***/−0.427***/−0.433*** −0.401***/−0.433***/−0.441***
RS, rearing styles; SC, self-control; MAc, math achievement; MAn, math anxiety.
e three data points between self-control and math anxiety, and math anxiety and math achievement are standardized regression coecients under three dierent parenting styles.
TABLE5 The mediating eect of self-control and math anxiety on the three dimensions of parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’ math achievement.
Paths Paternal Maternal
Indirect eects SE 95%CI Indirect eects SE 95%CI
EW → SC → MAc −0.004 0.006 −0.018, 0.005 −0.004 0.005 −0.016, 0.005
EW → MAn → MAc 0.111 0.021 0.073, 0.154 0.084 0.020 0.048, 0.125
EW → SC → MAn → MAc 0.009 0.005 0.002, 0.019 0.008 0.005 0.001, 0.018
Total indirect eect of EW → MAc 0.116 0.021 0.077, 0.159 0.089 0.020 0.052, 0.131
RE → SC → MAc 0.005 0.009 −0.010, 0.026 0.005 0.009 −0.011, 0.025
RE → MAn → MAc −0.102 0.021 −0.145, −0.062 −0.099 0.021 −0.142, −0.060
RE → SC → MAn → MA −0.015 0.006 −0.029, −0.005 −0.015 0.007 −0.030, −0.005
Total indirect eect of RE → MAc −0.112 0.022 −0.155, −0.070 −0.110 0.021 −0.153, −0.070
OV → SC → MAc 0.003 0.006 −0.006, 0.019 0.003 0.008 −0.010, 0.021
OV → MAn → MAc −0.093 0.020 −0.134, −0.054 −0.084 0.021 −0.126, −0.044
OV → SC → MAn → MA −0.010 0.006 −0.024, −0.001 −0.014 0.006 −0.029, −0.004
Total indirect eect of OV → MAc −0.100 0.021 −0.143, −0.060 −0.095 0.022 −0.138, −0.053
EW, emotional warmth; RE, rejection; OV, overprotection; SE, standard error of the coecient.

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 08 frontiersin.org
adolescent math achievement through the indirect eect of adolescent
self-control and math anxiety, indicating that the indirect prediction
eects of paternal and maternal rearing styles dier. More obvious
maternal rearing styles lead to increased adolescent self-control.
However, this may increase adolescent math anxiety, which, in turn,
can negatively aect adolescent math achievement. erefore, this
result highlights how maternal rearing styles play a role in adolescents’
math achievement.
Second, wefound that dierent dimensions of paternal and maternal
rearing styles variably directly predicted adolescent math achievement.
Only the overprotection of fathers can directly and positively predict
adolescents’ math achievement, while maternal rejection and
overprotection can positively predict adolescents’ math achievement. is
is inconsistent with the autonomy-supportive and distance-conict
theory (Guo etal., 2021). Such dierences may berelated to factors such
as family education and children’s cognition caused by cultural dierences
between China and the West (Li etal., 2019). In addition, the dierences
between paternal and maternal rearing styles and the three dimensions of
rearing styles are considered (Li etal., 2024). Our results suggest that, on
the one hand, fathers should devote more time to adolescents’ daily
education and care to balance with mothers. On the other hand, mothers,
who oen accompany and care for adolescents at home, should
appropriately let go and let adolescents make their own decisions to
cultivate their sense of responsibility, making adolescents more active and
tenacious in facing problems, such as those in math. Furthermore, if
necessary, educational supervision can be strengthened to help
adolescents improve their math and other achievements.
ird, the three dimensions of paternal and maternal rearing
styles vary in predicting adolescents’ self-control. Maternal emotional
warmth reduces adolescent self-control, while paternal emotional
warmth increases adolescent self-control. is is consistent with
previous studies and corresponding theoretical views (Cullen etal.,
2008). According to the ecological theory, environmental factors (such
as parents’ rearing style) play crucial roles in the self-control of
individuals (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Li et al., 2019). In addition,
according to autonomy-supportive parenting theory (Guo et al.,
2021), too much or too little parental warmth and support may
bedetrimental to the development of various abilities of children, such
as self-control (Retanal etal., 2021). erefore, the ndings of this
study indicate that mothers should be cautious when adopting
emotional warmth rearing style, as excessive levels of emotional
warmth may not beconducive to adolescents’ self-control.
In addition, this study found that self-control consistently
positively predicts math anxiety in adolescents. This contradicts
previous research findings based on adolescent participants. For
instance, Tevfik (2015) has found a significant negative
relationship between adolescents’ self-control and math anxiety.
Our results may align with Kremen and Block’s (1998) explanation,
which suggests that the benefits of self-control follow a curved
pattern. Insufficient control (defined as low self-control)
predisposes individuals to undesirable outcomes such as anxiety
and antisocial behavior. However, excessive control (defined as
high self-control) may suppress spontaneity, creativity, and joy in
learning and other areas of life. They further propose that
insufficient control may beassociated with behavioral issues such
as criminality and aggression, while excessive control may
belinked to emotional problems such as anxiety and depression
(Finkenauer etal., 2005). Our findings suggest that excessive self-
control among adolescents may increase math anxiety.
We further found a signicant negative correlation between math
anxiety and adolescents’ math achievement. is diers from a recent
study conducted in a Chinese cultural context (St Omer and Chen,
2023). In their one-year longitudinal study involving Taiwanese
adolescents, St Omer and Chen (2023) found a signicant positive
relationship between math anxiety and math achievement. is
discrepant result could stem from dierences in the participant
setting, sample sizes, and measurement tools for math anxiety between
the two studies (Namkung etal., 2019). Specically, weselected 584
children from economically and relatively underdeveloped
northwestern regions of mainland China, while St Omer and Chen
(2023) included 335 children from economically developed Taiwan.
Additionally, our study employed a math anxiety scale revised by
Chinese scholars that has been considered appropriate for measuring
math anxiety among Chinese children, whereas St Omer and Chen
(2023) used a more widely applicable math anxiety scale. Our ndings
indicate that within the same cultural background, the relationship
between adolescents’ math anxiety and math achievement can vary.
In mainland China, adolescents’ math anxiety is detrimental to
improving their math achievement.
5 Limitations and implications
is study has several limitations. First, it is a cross-sectional
study, which precludes the investigation of causal relationships
between variables. Future research could employ longitudinal studies
to examine bidirectional and causal relationships between variables.
Second, the methodology of this study relies on self-reports from
adolescents to measure perceived parenting styles, rather than actual
parenting practices. Future studies could utilize multi-informant
assessments to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the role
of parenting styles. Last, the study employed a convenience sampling
method, recruiting rst- and second-year junior high school students
as participants, which may limit the sample’s representativeness.
Future research should employ more systematic sampling methods to
include adolescents and children of various age groups, enhancing the
representativeness of the sample.
However, this study holds signicant theoretical and practical
implications. Our ndings reveal that parenting styles, especially maternal
rearing styles, have a direct or indirect predictive eect on adolescents’
math achievement. Further, wedistinguished the three dimensions of
rearing style and found both similarities and dierences in the inuence
thereof on adolescents’ math achievement. is has enriched the
ecosystem theory research on the relationship between parents’ parenting
style and adolescents’ math achievement. Second, to comprehensively
analyze the formation mechanism of adolescents’ math achievement, our
study focused on environmental factors (rearing style) and individual
adolescent factors (self-control and math anxiety). is perspective and
the corresponding results expand the application of social cognitive,
emotional motivation and other related theories in the eld of education
and provide a reference for follow-up research regarding adolescent math
achievement. Finally, this study found that math anxiety is a stable
mediating variable between the three dimensions of parents’ rearing styles
and adolescents’ math achievement, which provides an important basis
for understanding the role of math anxiety in the formation of
academic achievement.
is study has practical implications for alleviating adolescents’
math anxiety and improving their math achievement. Wefound that

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 09 frontiersin.org
paternal and maternal emotional warmth negatively predicts
adolescents’ math anxiety, parental rejection and overprotection
positively predict adolescents’ math anxiety, the three dimensions of
paternal and maternal rearing styles predict adolescents’ self-control
and math anxiety, and the chain mediators of math anxiety and self-
control predict math achievement. ese ndings provide guidance
for family education as follows: First, adolescence is a critical period
for the development of math anxiety (Wang etal., 2020). When
educating children, both parents should pay attention to positive
rearing styles such as warmth and support, and avoid negative rearing
styles such as rejection and punishment to reduce adolescents’ math
anxiety and improve their math performance. Second, the emotional
communication between father/mother and adolescents should
be controlled so that adolescents can feel paternal and maternal
warmth. At the same time, parents should appropriately ‘let go’ to
exercise adolescents’ sense of autonomy and responsibility, promote
the balanced development of adolescents’ mental health, and help
adolescents improve their math performance.
6 Conclusion
Both paternal and maternal rearing styles can signicantly
predict adolescents’ math achievement. Moreover, maternal rearing
styles can indirectly predict adolescents’ math achievement through
self-control and math anxiety. Furthermore, paternal and maternal
emotional warmth can reduce adolescents’ math anxiety, and thus
improve adolescents’ math achievement. While parental rejection
and over-protection may appear to enhance adolescents’ self-control,
they actually hinder the improvement of adolescents’ math
achievement by increasing math anxiety. Our results suggest the
importance of parental, especially maternal, rearing styles to
adolescent math achievement and the dierence between paternal
and maternal rearing styles in predicting adolescent math
achievement. Parents should adopt more warm, positive, and
supportive rearing styles and less rejection, punishment, and other
negative rearing styles; furthermore, parents should grasp a certain
degree of such styles to increase adolescents’ self-control, reduce their
math anxiety, and help them improve their math performance.
Data availability statement
The datasets presented in this article are not readily available
due to the sensitivity of the data: adolescent math achievement.
Requests to access the datasets should be directed to the
corresponding author.
Ethics statement
e studies involving human participants were reviewed and
approved by the Scientic Research Ethics Committee on School of
Psychology of Northwest Normal University (Approval No. 2023101).
e study was carried out in the schools aer verbal informed
consent had been given by the head of middle schools and the
children’s parents.
Author contributions
YW: Writing – original dra, Formal analysis, Conceptualization.
LH: Writing – original dra, Methodology, Conceptualization. YT:
Writing – review & editing, Methodology, Investigation,
Conceptualization. YM: Writing – review & editing, Supervision,
Project administration, Investigation.
Funding
e author(s) declare that no nancial support was received for
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Acknowledgments
e authors would like to express their gratitude to their
collaborator, Professor Qiongying Xu from Northwest Normal
University, for her help and guidance.
Conflict of interest
e authors declare that the research was conducted in the
absence of any commercial or nancial relationships that could
beconstrued as a potential conict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated
organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the
reviewers. Any product that may beevaluated in this article, or
claim that may bemade by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or
endorsed by the publisher.
References
Abedini, Y., Zamani, B. E., Kheradmand, A., and Rajabizadeh, G. (2012). Impacts of
mothers’ occupation status and parenting styles on levels of self-control, addiction to
computer games, and educational progress of adolescents. Addict. Health. 4, 102–110
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-ecacy: e exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
Bardach, L., Yanagida, T., Goetz, T., Jach, H., and Pekrun, R. (2023). Self-regulated
and externally regulated learning in adolescence: developmental trajectories and
relations with teacher behavior, parent behavior, and academic achievement. D ev.
Psychol. 59, 1327–1345. doi: 10.1037/dev0001537
Barroso, C., Ganley, C. M., McGraw, A. L., Geer, E. A., Hart, S. A., and Daucourt, M. C.
(2021). A meta-analysis of the relation between math anxiety an math achievement.
Psychol. Bull. 147, 134–168. doi: 10.1037/bul0000307
Borgonovi, F., Pokropek, M., and Pokropek, A. (2023). Relations between academic
boredom, academic achievement, ICT use, and teacher enthusiasm among adolescents.
Comput. Educ. 200:104807. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104807
Brewin, C. R. (1996). eoretical foundations of cognitive-behavior therapy for
anxiety and depression. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 47, 33–57. doi: 10.1146/annurev.
psych.47.1.33
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). e ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Burt, C. H. (2020). Self-control and crime: beyond Gottfredson and
Hirschi's theory. Annu. Rev. Criminol. 3, 43–73. doi: 10.1146/annurev-
criminol-011419-041344

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 10 frontiersin.org
Chen, X., Rubin, K. H., and Li, D. (1997). Relation between academic achievement
and social adjustment: evidence from chinese children. Dev. Psychol. 33, 518–525. doi:
10.1037/0012-1649.33.3.518
Choe, K. W., Jenifer, J. B., Rozek, C. S., Berman, M. G., and Beilock, S. L. (2019).
Calculated avoidance: math anxiety predicts math avoidance in eort-based decision-
making. Sci. Adv. 5:1062. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aay1062
Cleary, T. J., and Chen, P. P. (2009). Self-regulation, motivation, and math achievement
in middle school: variations across grade level and math context. J. Sch. Psychol. 47,
291–314. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2009.04.002
Cleary, T. J., and Kitsantas, A. (2017). Motivation and self-regulated learning
inuences on middle school mathematics achievement. Sch. Psychol. Rev. 46, 88–107.
doi: 10.1080/02796015.2017.12087607
Cullen, F. T., Unnever, J. D., Wright, J. P., and Beaver, K. M. (2008). “Parenting and
self- control” in Out of control: Assessing the general theory of crime. ed. E. Goode
(Stanford University, United States: Stanford University Press), 61–74.
Dent, A. L., and Koenka, A. C. (2015). e relation between self-regulated learning
and academic achievement across childhood and adolescence: a meta-analysis. Educ.
Psychol. Rev. 28, 425–474. doi: 10.1007/s10648-015-9320-8
Ding, X. C., Shi, X. X., and Liu, J. S. (2012). e predictive relationship between
academic achievement and internalized behavior problems: a one-year follow-up study.
Chin. J. Clin. Psychol. 20, 697–701. doi: 10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2012.05.020
Du, Y., Dang, Q., Zhang, B., Wu, R., and Rasool, A. (2021). e eects of parenting
dierences on psychological resilience in adolescent students: the role of gratitude. Child
Youth Serv. Rev. 130:106224. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106224
Duckworth, A. L., Taxer, J. L., Eskreis-Winkler, L., Galla, B. M., and Gross, J. J. (2019).
Self-control and academic achievement. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 70, 373–399. doi: 10.1146/
annurev-psych-010418-103230
Finkenauer, C., Engels, R., and Baumeister, R. (2005). Parenting behaviour and
adolescent behavioural and emotional problems: the role of self-control. Int. J. Behav.
De v. 29, 58–69. doi: 10.1080/01650250444000333
Fong, C. J., Kremer, K. P., Hill-Troglin Cox, C., and Lawson, C. A. (2021). Expectancy-
value proles in math and science: a person-centered approach to cross-domain
motivation with academic and STEM-related outcomes. Contemp. Educ. Psychol.
65:101962. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.101962
Guo, J., Zhang, J., and Pang, W. (2021). Parental warmth, rejection, and creativity: the
mediating roles of openness and dark personality traits. Per.s Indiv. Dier. 168:110369.
doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110369
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional Process
analysis. New York: Guilford.
Husain, F. (2023). e impact of physical training on academic progress: a perspective
through self-determination theory and maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Brit. J. Educ. 11,
82–92. doi: 10.37745/bje.2013/vol11n118292
Jain, S., and Dowson, M. (2009). Mathematics anxiety as a function of
multidimensional self-regulation and self-ecacy. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 34, 240–249.
doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2009.05.004
Jiang, S., Lu, Z. R., Jiang, B. J., and Xu, Y. (2010). Preliminary revision of the Chinese
version of the simplied parenting style questionnaire. Psychol. Dev. Edu. 1, 94–99. doi:
10.16187/j.carolcarrollnkiissn1001-4918.2010.01.017
Jin, X., Li, X., Li, J., Kou, G., and Zhang, X. (2024). e relationship between parental
autonomy support and adolescents’ academic achievement in mathematics—the
mediating role of the need for cognition and mathematics metacognition. Curr. Psychol.
43, 29189–29198. doi: 10.1007/s12144-024-06435-1
John, J. E., Nelson, P. A., Klenczar, B., and Robnett, R. D. (2020). Memories of math:
narrative predictors of math aect, math motivation, and future math plans. Contemp.
Educ. Psychol. 60:101838. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101838
King, R. B., and Gaerlan, M. J. M. (2014). High self-control predicts more positive
emotions, better engagement, and higher achievement in school. Eur. J. Psychol. Educ.
29, 81–100. doi: 10.1007/s10212-013-0188-z
Kremen, A. M., and Block, J. (1998). e roots of ego-control in young adulthood:
links with parenting in early childhood. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 75, 1062–1075. doi:
10.1037//0022-3514.75.4.1062
Le, H., and Robbins, S. B. (2016). Building the STEM pipeline: ndings of a 9-year
longitudinal research project. J. Vocat. Behav. 95, 21–30. doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2016.07.002
Li, Y. Z. (2018). A study on the inuence mechanism of parental rearing style on high
school students' learning engagement. Chin. J. Clin. Psychol. 26, 997–1001. doi:
10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2018.05.034
Li, C., Dang, J., Zhang, X., Zhang, Q., and Guo, J. (2014). Internet addiction among
Chinese adolescents: the eect of parental behavior and self-control. Comput. Hum.
Behav. 41, 1–7. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.001
Li, D., Li, W., and Zhu, X. (2023a). Parenting style and children emotion management
skills among Chinese children aged 3–6: the chain mediation eect of self-control and
peer interactions. Front. Psychol. 14:1231920. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1231920
Li, Y., Scott Huebner, E., and Tian, L. (2023b). Deviant peer aliation, self-control,
and aggression during early adolescence: within-person eects and between-person
dierences. Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 33, 2343–2352. doi: 10.1007/
s00787-023-02336-z
Li, J. B., Willems, Y. E., Stok, F. M., Deković, M., Bartels, M., and Finkenauer, C.
(2019). Parenting and self-control across early to late adolescence: a three-level meta-
analysis. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 14, 967–1005. doi: 10.1177/1745691619863046
Li, Y., Ye, Y., and Zhou, X. (2024). Parent–child relationship, parenting behaviors, and
adolescents’ depressive symptoms aer an earthquake: unraveling within-adolescent
associations from between-adolescent dierences. Eur. Child. Adoles. Psy. 33, 2301–2318.
doi: 10.1007/s00787-023-02319-0
Luo, Y., Zhang, H., and Chen, G. (2020). e impact of family environment on
academic burnout of middle school students: the moderating role of self-control. Child
Youth Serv. Rev. 119:105482. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105482
Macmull, M. S., and Ashkenazi, S. (2019). Math anxiety: the relationship between
parenting style and math self-ecacy. Front. Psychol. 10:1721. doi: 10.3389/
fpsyg.2019.01721
Martin, J. (2004). Self-regulated learning, social cognitive theory, and agency. Edu.
Psychol. 39, 135–145. doi: 10.1207/s15326985ep3902_4
Moilanen, K. L., Rasmussen, K. E., and Padilla-Walker, L. M. (2014). Bidirectional
associations between self-regulation and parenting styles in early adolescence. J. Res.
Adolesc. 25, 246–262. doi: 10.1111/jora.12125
Mun, C. J., Dishion, T. J., Tein, J. Y., and Otten, R. (2018). Adolescence eortful control
as a mediator between family ecology and problematic substance use in early adulthood:
a 16-year prospective study. Dev. Psychopathol. 30, 1355–1369. doi: 10.1017/
s0954579417001742
Muraven, M. (2010). Building self-control strength: practicing self-control leads to
improved self-control performance. J. Ex. Soci Psychol. 46, 465–468. doi: 10.1016/j.
jesp.2009.12.011
Muraven, M., and Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited
resources: does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychol. Bull. 126, 247–259. doi:
10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.247
Namkung, J. M., Peng, P., and Lin, X. (2019). e relation between mathematics
anxiety and mathematics performance among school-aged students: a meta-analysis.
Rev. Educ. Res. 89, 459–496. doi: 10.3102/0034654319843494
Oatley, K., and Johnson-Laird, P. N. (2014). Cognitive approaches to emotions. Trends
Cogn. Sci. 18, 134–140. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.12.004
Ogg, J., and Anthony, C. J. (2020). Process and context: longitudinal eects of the
interactions between parental involvement, parental warmth, and SES on academic
achievement. J. School. Psychol. 78, 96–114. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2019.11.004
Pallini, S., Chirumbolo, A., Morelli, M., Baiocco, R., Laghi, F., and Eisenberg, N.
(2018). e relation of attachment security status to eortful self-regulation: a meta-
analysis. Psychol. Bull. 144, 501–531. doi: 10.1037/bul0000134
Peterson, S. M., Aljade-Abergel, E., Eldridge, R. R., VanderWeele, N. J., and
Acker, N. S. (2020). Conceptualizing self-determination from a behavioral perspective:
the role of choice, self-control, and self-management. J. Behav. Educ. 30, 299–318. doi:
10.1007/s10864-020-09368-4
Pinquart, M. (2015). Associations of parenting styles and dimensions with academic
achievement in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. Educ. Psychol. Rev. 28,
475–493. doi: 10.1007/s10648-015-9338-y
Retanal, F., Johnston, N. B., Di Lonardo Burr, S. M., Storozuk, A., DiStefano, M., and
Maloney, E. A. (2021). Controlling-supportive homework help partially explains the
relation between parents’ math anxiety and Children’s math achievement. Educ. Sci.
11:620. doi: 10.3390/educsci11100620
Rodríguez-Ruiz, J., Zych, I., Ribeaud, D., Steinho, A., Eisner, M., Quednow, B. B.,
et al. (2023). e inuence of dierent dimensions of the parent–child relationship in
childhood as longitudinal predictors of substance use in late adolescence. e mediating
role of self-control. Int. J. Ment Health. Ad. 3, 1–18. doi: 10.1007/s11469-023-01036-8
St Omer, S. M., and Chen, S. (2023). Examining the dynamics of mathematics anxiety,
perceived cost, and achievement: a control-value theory approach. Contemp. Educ.
Psychol. 73:102169. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102169
Suinn, R. M., and Winston, E. H. (2003). e mathematics anxiety rating scale, a brief
version: psychometric data. Psychol. Rep. 92, 167–173. doi: 10.2466/pr0.2003.92.1.167
Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., and Boone, A. L. (2004). High self-control predicts
good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. J. Pers. 72,
271–324. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00263.x
Tevk, I. (2015). e relationship between secondary school students mathematics
anxiety and self-regulation. Educ. Res. Rev. 10, 684–690. doi: 10.5897/err2014.1896
Toh, L., and Watt, H. M. G. (2022). How do adolescent mathematical self-concept and
values explain attainment of dierent kinds of STEM degrees in adulthood? Contemp.
Educ. Psychol. 69:102057. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2022.102057
Underdown, A. (2007). Children and families in communities: theory, research, policy
and practice. Child. Soc. 21, 399–400. doi: 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2007.00103.x
Waismel-Manor, R., and Levanon, A. (2024). Inequality within the family: a
comparative analysis of gendered working time preferences among dual-earner couples.
Sex Roles 90, 832–847. doi: 10.1007/s11199-024-01481-2

Wang et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413899
Frontiers in Psychology 11 frontiersin.org
Wang, Z., Borriello, G. A., Oh, W., Lukowski, S., and Malanchini, M. (2021). Co-development
of math anxiety, math self-concept, and math value in adolescence: the roles of parents and
math teachers. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 67:102016. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.102016
Wang, C., Cho, H. J., Wiles, B., Moss, J. D., Bonem, E. M., Li, Q., et al. (2022).
Competence and autonomous motivation as motivational predictors of college students’
mathematics achievement: from the perspective of self-determination theory. Int. J.
Stem. Edu. 9:41. doi: 10.1186/s40594-022-00359-7
Wang, D., and Fletcher, A. C. (2015). Parenting style and peer trust in relation to
school adjustment in middle childhood. J.Child Fam. Stud. 25, 988–998. doi: 10.1007/
s10826-015-0264-x
Wang, C., Li, X., and Wang, H. J. (2023). e mediating eect of math self-ecacy on
the relationship between parenting style and math anxiety. Front. Psychol. 14:1197170.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1197170
Wang, Z., Lukowski, S. L., Hart, S. A., Lyons, I. M., ompson, L. A., Kovas, Y., et al.
(2015). Is math anxiety always bad for math learning? e role of math motivation.
Psychol. Sci. 26, 1863–1876. doi: 10.1177/0956797615602471
Wang, Z., Oh, W., Malanchini, M., and Borriello, G. A. (2020). The
developmentaltrajectories of mathematics anxiety: cognitive, personality, and
environmental correlates. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 61:101876. doi: 10.1016/j.
cedpsych.2020.101876
Wu, J. (2014). A study on the relationship between math anxiety, math self-ecacy
and math academic achievement of junior high school students. China: Nanjing Normal
University.
Xie, D. J., Wang, L. G., Tao, T., Fan, C., and Gao, W. B. (2014). Validity and reliability
of the Chinese version of the two-system scale of adolescent self-control. Chin. J. Mental
Health. 28, 386–391. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-6729.2014.05.012
Yang, P., Li, X., Li, X., Li, D., Xu, X., and Zhao, C. (2023). Parent-grandparent co-
parenting and preschoolers’ self-control in China: the roles of maternal and
grandparental parenting styles. Early Educ. Dev. 35, 572–587. doi:
10.1080/10409289.2023.2186087
Zimmerman, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning.
J. Educ. Psychol. 81:329. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.81.3.329