Family Dynamics and School Performance: Examining the role of parental relationship on school performance among unmarried youths in India

Numerous studies have found linkage between quality of parents’ relationship and positive outcomes for children. While, most of these findings come from the developed countries, there are a few from developing world that examines the association between parental relationship and youth development. Many of these studies, especially in Indian context, have considered health as an indicator of development. Yet very little research has examined whether this association holds good for other development indicators, for example schooling. Moreover, whether the association varies across various population subgroups, especially among men and women? Drawing on the data from a sub-nationally youth representative study in India, this paper examines how parent-child relation and parental characteristics contribute in better school performance such as school continuation, completion of age-appropriate level of schooling, successful completion of the last class and regular class attendance. Analyses focus on more than 11,000 unmarried men and 17,000 unmarried women aged 15-24 years. Results indicate that the parents’ relationship quality is very consistently and positively associated with a range of schooling outcomes. This association holds for both unmarried young men and women participated in study at national and sub-national levels.