The influence of social relationships and school engagement on academic achievement in maltreated adolescents

Adolescents who have experienced maltreatment face many developmental and educational challenges compared with their non-maltreated peers. Research demonstrates the importance of social relationships in academic achievement among non-maltreated youth, and suggests the influence of parent and peer relationships for academic success in maltreated youth as well, including the potential benefit of school engagement. Data for the study comes from the first wave of the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II), a nationally-representative sample of children involved in Child Protective Services in the United States. The study finds that maltreated adolescents' perceptions of relationship quality with both parents and peers significantly predict academic achievement. In addition, results demonstrate a mediating effect of school engagement between parent and peer variables and some academic achievement outcomes.