ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the relation of family background to girls’ ability and adaptation in early adolescence. Through this investigation we are considering individuals’ functioning in a second environmental domain, that of the home. A plethora of previous studies has addressed the influence of various aspects of family background on females’ scholastic and occupational goals and achievements. The underlying model seems to have been that high parental education will go hand in hand with high levels of parental occupation and income and, moreover, that this “privileged” family environment, with its assumed parental emphasis on offspring education, will provide the ideal background for children’s high achievement. Direct assessments of the influence of parental values on children’s goals or accomplishments have, of course, been conducted, although interpreting the findings in this area also poses certain difficulties. However, the questionnaire was accompanied by a letter of instruction that strongly urged the cooperation of both parents.
