Work–family conflict, educational involvement, and adolescent academic engagement during COVID ‐19: An investigation of developmental differences

Objective In this research, we examine the mediating effect of educational involvement between parental work–family conflict and adolescent academic engagement during COVID-19, as well as the differences among developmental stages. Background Online learning during the COVID-19 lockdown created challenges for adolescent academic engagement. One of the toughest challenges was that parents experienced increased work–family conflict, making it difficult for them to be involved in adolescent education. In this context, it is essential to understand the impact of parental work–family conflict on adolescent academic engagement. Method A total of 886 dual-income families participated in the study. Mothers and fathers completed the questionnaire, including questions regarding work–family conflict and educational involvement. Adolescents completed an academic engagement scale. Results The structural equation model in the total sample showed that parental educational involvement mediated the effect of maternal work–family conflict on adolescent academic engagement. In addition, paternal educational involvement mediated the effect of paternal work–family conflict on adolescent academic engagement. Multigroup analysis indicated the impact of work–family conflict only existed in middle and late adolescence, and mother played a more important role in late adolescence. Conclusion The study results confirmed the mediating role of parental educational involvement between the relationship of paternal work–family conflict and adolescent academic engagement. Furthermore, this relationship may vary for families with an adolescent at different developmental stages.