ItemArticle

Self-Control and Decision-Making Skills as Predictors of College Enrollment: Role of Parental Influences

Title
Self-Control and Decision-Making Skills as Predictors of College Enrollment: Role of Parental Influences
Creator
Khurana, Atika; Samlan, Hillel; Wing, Wyatt; Sharma, Deepali
Description
Self-control and planful decision-making can play a critical role in promoting academic outcomes. Nonetheless, little is known about how parental influences impact these noncognitive skills in promoting college enrollment. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we examined adolescent self-control and decision-making skills (at wave 1) as predictors of college enrollment (at wave 3). Further, we assessed if the effect of parental influences (i.e., maternal academic involvement, maternal academic expectations, parental control/limit-setting, and parental education) on college enrollment was indirect and operated through the associations of parenting variables with adolescent self-control and planful decision making. Both self-control and decision-making skills significantly predicted college enrollment, controlling for age, gender, family income, and cognitive ability. Parental control/limit-setting and educational level had significant direct effects on college enrollment and were not significantly related to adolescent self-control or planful decision making skills. The effect of maternal academic involvement on college enrollment was indirect and operated through its associations with adolescent self-control and decision-making skills. The effect of maternal academic expectations on college enrollment was both direct and indirect, through its association with adolescent decision-making skills. Our findings suggest that individual and family-based interventions that target critical noncognitive skills, such as self-control and planful decision making, hold promise in promoting college enrollment. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.
Source
Journal of Child and Family Studies;Volume;34;Issue;9;pp.2391-2404
Date
01-01-2025
Publisher
Springer
Subject
College enrollment; Decision-making skills; Parental academic expectations; Parental academic involvement; Self-control
Coverage
Khurana A., College of Education, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States; Samlan H., College of Education, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States; Wing W., College of Education, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States; Sharma D., Department of Psychology, Christ University, Bengaluru, India
Rights
Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library
Relation
ISSN: 10621024;
Format
online
Language
English
Type
Article

Citation

Khurana, Atika; Samlan, Hillel; Wing, Wyatt; Sharma, Deepali, “Self-Control and Decision-Making Skills as Predictors of College Enrollment: Role of Parental Influences,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed June 18, 2026, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/21901.

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