Differences in Academic Factors According to Latent Profiles of Parenting Characteristics During Adolescence: Examining the Influence of Parental Attachment

Objectives The purpose of this study was to classify latent profiles based on parenting characteristics perceived by 7th-grade students and to examine the influence of parental attachment as a predictive factor. Additionally, the study aimed to identify differences in reading habits and learning factors, such as academic understanding, academic stress, and self-regulated learning, across the latent profiles. Methods This study utilized data from 1,328 adolescents who participated in the 14th wave of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS). Using SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 8.11, latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted based on adolescents' perceptions of parenting characteristics. The study then examined whether there were significant differences in the average levels of reading habits, academic understanding, academic stress, and self-regulated learning among the identified latent profiles. Additionally, the study tested whether the parental attachment factors—communication, alienation, and trust—affect the parenting characteristics of achievement pressure, rational explanation, and parental monitoring in 7th-grade students. Results The results of the study indicated that, first, the latent profiles of parenting characteristics perceived by adolescents were classified into three distinct groups. Second, parental attachment was found to have a significant influence on the classification of these profiles based on adolescents' perceptions of parenting characteristics. Third, significant differences were observed in learning factors according to the perceived parenting characteristics, with the ‘high parental monitoring group’ scoring the highest. Conclusions This study classified adolescents' perceived parenting characteristics using a person-centered approach through latent profile analysis and revealed parental attachment types that could serve as risk or protective factors. Additionally, it validated the differences in academic understanding, academic stress, and self-regulated learning across the latent profiles. The findings provide implications for interventions in adolescent counseling, parent education, and family counseling.