Family satisfaction and self-efficacy among low-income adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative analysis of parents' educational attainment

Jaewon Lee; Jennifer Allen; Hyejung Lim; Gyuhyun Choi; Jiyu Jung

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.942927

Family satisfaction and self-efficacy among low-income adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative analysis of parents' educational attainment

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Jul 26:13:942927. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.942927. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jaewon Lee¹, Jennifer Allen², Hyejung Lim³, Gyuhyun Choi⁴, Jiyu Jung⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Social Work, Inha University, Incheon, South Korea.
² School of Social Work, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.
³ School of Education, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁴ Integrative Arts Therapy, Dongduk Women's University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁵ Korea Development Bank Foundation, Seoul, South Korea.

Abstract

Purposes: Given that the period from middle to high school is important to develop and cultivate self-efficacy, reduced support in low-income families might negatively influence the development of self-efficacy among low-income students since COVID-19. This study aims to investigate the association between family satisfaction and self-efficacy among low-income students since COVID-19 and the moderating effect of parents' educational attainment on the relationship.

Methods: 255 low-income students in South-Korea were selected for the final sample. The PROCESS macro 3.4 for Statistical Product and Service Solutions was used to analyze the data.

Results: Family satisfaction was positively related to self-efficacy among low-income students. There was a significant moderating effect of parents' educational attainment on the relationship between family satisfaction and self-efficacy among low-income students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discussion: Financial support and COVID-19 benefits should be prioritized to low-income families with adolescents to improve family relationships, leading to increase self-efficacy among low-income students. Social welfare programs targeting family relationships in low-income households should be especially targeted toward low-income households without a parent who received higher education. Life-long education should be provided to parents in low-income families who did not gain higher education as their educational attainment influences the self-efficacy of their adolescent children.

Keywords: COVID-19; family satisfaction; low-income adolescents; parents' educational attainment; self-efficacy.