CORRELATION STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF ACTUAL AND PERCEIVED HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND PARENTAL INVESTMENT TO CHILDREN’S ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND THEIR PRELIMINARY OCCUPATIONAL SOCIALIZATION SKILLS

Correlations between household income/parental investment and the academic/professional success in children have been widely corroborated for many years. Yet some, more focused, studies have also shown that special instances/circumstances sometimes exist that do not follow the correlation trends, especially in the case of families with lower socioeconomic status. As perceptions tend to play significant roles in influencing children just as much as, and sometimes more than, reality, this study has focused on studying the varying effects of perceived against actual household income, as well as material and non-material parental investment, on children’s academic success and preliminary occupational socialization skills that act as an indicator for future professional success. The study has found that for the population of families living in or near poverty, children’s perception of household income is a significant predictor of their academic success as well as positive preliminary occupational socialization skills. However, neither the actual household income, nor the parents’ monetary investments towards their children’s academic endeavors, was a significant predictor of academic success or positive preliminary occupational socialization skills. Furthermore, the parents’ non-material investments towards their children’s success were clear predictors of the children’s academic success and positive preliminary occupational socialization skills. This subsequently shows that a child’s levels of happiness, self-esteem, and positive relationships with the parents should be focused upon more than monetary support when it comes to planning the future of children living in poverty, for parents as well as for policymakers seeking to affect positive change for low-income families through child education.