The Effects of Parenting Attitudes, Parental Achievement Pressure, and Grit on Academic Stress among Children in Mongolia

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of perceived parenting attitudes, parental achievement pressure, and children’s grit on academic stress among upper-grade elementary school children in Mongolia. Methods: This study included 394 fifth- and sixth-grade students from seven elementary schools in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, who provided consent to participate. The study employed measures of academic stress, parenting attitudes, achievement pressure, and children’s grit. Instruments originally developed in Korean were translated into Mongolian. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, with descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analyses, and hierarchical regression analyses performed. Results: First, significant differences in academic stress were found according to children’s gender, grade level, and birth order. Female students and sixth-grade students reported higher levels of academic stress, while third-born or later children showed lower levels compared to first- or second-born children. Second, negative parenting attitudes and parental achievement pressure were positively correlated with academic stress, whereas positive parenting attitudes and grit were negatively correlated with academic stress. Third, the results of hierarchical regression analysis controlling for general characteristics indicated that negative parenting attitudes and parental achievement pressure had positive effects on academic stress, while grit had a negative effect. Conclusions: Negative parenting attitudes and parental achievement pressure had direct effects on Mongolian children’s academic stress, while children’s grit was found to reduce academic stress. The findings of this study are expected to provide foundational data for developing parent-child interaction strategies and psychological and educational support programs aimed at reducing academic stress among Mongolian children.