Perceived Burden of Private Education as a Mediator Between Parental Achievement Pressure and Adolescents’ Happiness

This study explores how parental achievement pressure impacts adolescents' overall happiness, focusing on the mediating role of the burden of private education. Reports indicate that South Korean adolescents rank among the least happy in OECD countries. While various factors contribute to this, situation, it is hypothesized that excessive parental expectations and the demand for private education increase stress and lower well-being. Using data from the 14th wave of the Korean Child Panel (N=1,348), this study examines the relationships between parental achievement pressure, private education burden, and adolescent happiness. The analysis was performed using SPSS 23.0 and the Hayes PROCESS macro Model 4. Findings show that parental achievement pressure negatively affects adolescents' happiness. Furthermore, this pressure significantly heightens the burden of private education, which, subsequently reduces happiness. The mediating effect of private education burden was confirmed, indicating that parental achievement pressure indirectly impacts happiness by increasing stress from private education. These results highlight that both direct and indirect effects of parental expectations contribute to lower adolescent well-being. The study emphasized the need for parental education programs to set realistic achievement expectations and advocates for policy interventions aimed at alleviating private education burdens, to ultimately enhance adolescent happiness.