Neurocognitive Functioning and Psychological Distress Among Korean Adolescents: The Role of Family’s Achievement Orientation and Intellectual-Cultural Orientation = 한국 청소년의 신경인지기능 및 심리적 스트레스: 가족의 성취지향성과 지적-문화적지향성의 역할

국문 초록 (Abstract)

한국 사회는 청소년에게 높은 학업과 사회적 기대를 요구하며, 이에 따라 가족은 자녀의 성장을 지원하고자 다양한 방식으로 노력하고 있다. 본 연구는 이러한 맥락에서, 가족이 청소년의 인지적 역량과 정서적 안정을 어떻게 지지할 수 있는지를 살펴보고자 하였다. 청소년시기에 더욱 주목받아야 할 가족의 성취지향성과 지적-문화적지향성을 중심으로, 이들이 청소년의 신경인지기능과 심리적 스트레스와 어떤 관련이 있는지를 분석하였다. 성취지향성은 경쟁과 타인보다 뛰어난 성과를 내는 것에 중점을 두며, 학업적 및 인지적 역량을 높일 수 있으나　과도한　경우 스트레스를 높일 수 있다. 지적-문화적지향성은　호기심과 탐구를 장려하는 가족환경을 의미하며, 청소년의 동기 형성과 심리적 안정에 기여한다. 두 지향성은 청소년의 적응에 있어　상호보완적인 역할을 하지만, 기존 연구들은 주로 이를　분리해　다뤘고,　가족보다 학교 맥락에서　집중되어　왔다.
청소년기 사회환경과 가족관계에 따른 뇌인지 발달 궤적연구의 Wellness Effects on Childhood and Adolescent Neurocognitive Development Outcomes and Individual Trajectories(WE CAN DO IT; 9-18세)데이터를 활용하여, 두 개의 실증연구를 실시하였다. 연구 1(N=153)은 청소년의 특성불안(trait anxiety)이 과제 수행 전 감정상태(신남, 두려움)를 거쳐 인지과제　수행에 미치는 간접 경로를 살펴보고, 가족의 성취지향성과 지적－문화적지향성의 조절효과를 확인하였다. 조절된　매개 모형 분석 결과, ‘두려움’이 주요 매개변인으로 나타났으며, 높은 특성불안은 과제 전 ‘두려움’과　정적관계，　이를　이어　수행과　부적관계를 보였다. ‘신남’의　매개　효과는　약했으나　의미 있는 경향을　보였다．　지적－문화적 지향이 낮을수록 특성불안과 ‘신남’ 간의 부정적 관계가 강화되고, 높을수록 완화되는 조절 경향이　나타났다. 이러한 조절효과는 불안 수준이 높은 청소년에게서 더욱 두드러졌다. 성취지향성은 조절 효과를 보이지 않았다. 이는 특성불안　수준이 높은 청소년에게　있어，　가족의 지적－문화적지향성이　학습　과정에서　보호요인이 될　수　있음을　시사한다.
연구 2(N=175)는 가족의 두 지향성에 기반한 군집을 도출하고(K-평균 군집분석), 다항 로지스틱 회귀분석을　통해　각 군집과 부모 특성 간의 관계, 그리고　다변량공분산분석(MANCOVA)으로　군집과 청소년의 신경 인지기능(지능, 일화기억, 학습수행) 및 심리적 스트레스(우울, 특성불안, 지각된 스트레스)간의 관계를 분석하였다. 그 결과,　가족은 네 가지 군집으로 분류되었다: 균형형(Balanced High), 성취중심형(Achievement-Oriented), 지적－문화중심형(Intellectual-Cultural Enriching), 저지향형(Uninvolved). 어머니의 학력, 부모 불안 수준, 가계 소득은 군집과 유의한 관련을 보였다. 신경인지기능 중에서는 지능만이 군집 간 차이를 보였으며, ‘지적－문화중심형’ 청소년이 ‘저지향형’보다 높은 지능수준을 보였다. ‘균형형,’ ‘성취중심형,’ ‘지적－문화중심형’ 간에는 유의한 차이가 없었다. 심리적 스트레스는 ‘균형형’　청소년이 가장 낮았고, ‘성취중심형’에서 가장 높게　보고되었다.　이러한 결과는 가족의 두 지향성이 청소년의 인지기능 및 스트레스 수준과 밀접하게 연관되어 있음을 나타내며, 특히 지적－문화적지향성의 단독역할 뿐만 아니라 성취지향성과 함께 높을 때에 청소년들의 인지적 및 심리적 기능에 긍정적인 관련이 보이는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구는 한국 사회 맥락에서, 청소년들의 발달적 특성과 필요를 이해하는 데 단초를 제공하며, 가족의 지향성과 역할 대한 시사점도 함께 제공한다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

South Korean families do their best to keep up with the high academic and societal expectations placed upon Korean adolescents. This dissertation aims to investigate how specific family dimensions toward personal growth—achievement and intellectual-cultural orientation—shape key markers of adolescent resilience, namely neurocognitive functioning and psychological distress, within a highly competitive, achievement-oriented culture. Achievement orientation within the family focuses on competition and outperforming others, which can potentially enhance cognitive competence but elevate psychological stress as adolescents feel pressured to meet standards. Intellectual-cultural orientation refers to the family’s endorsement of curiosity, open discussions, and exploration—providing an enriching environment for adolescents to nurture their motivation. While increasingly recognized as important in adolescent development, it still tends to take a backseat. Both these dimensions play distinct and complementary roles in adolescents’ adaptive functioning; however, existing research has typically examined them separately, more so outside of family as the key socialization context—leaving families a fragmented picture on how to support adolescent growth.
The dissertation addresses this gap by examining these two dimensions within a unified framework, elucidated through two empirical studies. Study 1 investigated whether family’s achievement and intellectual-cultural orientation, separately, moderated the indirect pathways from trait anxiety to learning performance via pre-task emotional states. Study 2 examined the clusters of achievement and intellectual-cultural orientations and their associations with adolescents’ neurocognitive functioning (i.e., intelligence, episodic memory, learning performance) and psychological distress (i.e., depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, perceived stress).
Utilizing data from Wellness Effects on Childhood and Adolescent Neurocognitive Development Outcomes and Individual Trajectories (WE CAN DO IT; age 9–18), Study 1 (N = 153) conducted a simple mediation model with parallel mediators (i.e., excitement and fear) to examine the mechanistic link between adolescent trait anxiety and learning performance. Further, a moderated mediation model was conducted, which examined the moderating roles of achievement and intellectual-cultural orientation to the previously tested pathways. Findings showed fear to be the primary mediator, with higher anxiety linked to increased pre-task fear to poorer performance. Excitement also showed a theoretically meaningful but weaker mediating effect, with higher anxiety linked to reduced excitement. Intellectual-cultural orientation moderated the link between trait anxiety and excitement; lower levels of intellectual-cultural orientation intensified whereas the higher levels mitigated the negative link between trait anxiety and excitement. This was especially pronounced among adolescents with high trait anxiety. Furthermore, a significant index of moderated mediation indicated that the excitement pathway varied by levels of intellectual-cultural orientation. Achievement orientation did not significantly moderate any of the pathways. These findings suggest that while fear is the primary mediator linking anxiety to reduced performance, feelings of excitement may be shaped by the family’s intellectual and cultural enrichment, fostering emotionally resilient learners, especially those prone to anxiety.
Study 2 (N = 175) conducted K-Means Cluster and Multinomial Regression Analysis to identify family clusters and their associations with parent characteristics. Then, Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was used to examine the associations between cluster and adolescents’ neurocognitive functioning and psychological distress. It identified four family clusters (i.e., Balanced High, Achievement-Oriented, Intellectual-Cultural Enriching, Uninvolved). Multinomial regression analyses revealed that maternal education, parents’ anxiety, and household income were significant factors associated with the different family climate profiles. Multivariate analyses revealed that only intelligence among the neurocognitive outcomes showed variations in the family clusters, where adolescents in Intellectual-Cultural Enriching families fared significantly better compared to those from Uninvolved families. No significant difference in intelligence was found among Intellectual-Cultural Enriching, Achievement-Oriented, and Balanced High clusters. Adolescents in Balanced High showed the least psychological distress compared to the other groups, while those from Achievement-Oriented families showed less favorable psychological outcomes. These insights offer practical implications for families and communities to foster healthy and adaptive environments for the youth.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1. Introduction 1
• 1.1. Overview of the Study 1
• 1.2. Overview of Data 5
• 1.3. Terms and Definition 6
• Chapter 2. Literature Review 9
• 2.1. Introduction 9
• 2.2 Beyond Academic Performance 10
• 2.3. Families and Adolescents Within the South Korean Context 13
• 2.4. The Role of Achievement and Intellectual-Cultural Orientation Within Family 17
• 2.5. The Present Dissertation 23
• Chapter 3. Study 1 “Moderated Mediation Analysis of The Trait Anxiety–Learning Performance Pathway via Pre-Task Emotional States: Moderation by Family’s Achievement and Intellectual-Cultural Orientations” 25
• 3.1. Introduction 25
• 3.2. Literature Review 28
• 3.3. Method 36
• 3.4. Results 40
• 3.5. Discussion 47
• Chapter 4. Study 2 “Cluster Analysis of Family’s Achievement and Intellectual-Cultural Orientations: Associations With Parental Characteristics and Adolescent Outcomes” 58
• 4.1. Introduction 58
• 4.2. Literature Review 60
• 4.3. Method 68
• 4.4 Results 74
• 4.5. Discussion 82
• Chapter 5. Discussion 96
• 5.1. Introduction 96
• 5.2. Contributions and Suggestions for Future Research 97
• 5.3. Practical Implications 101
• 5.4. Conclusion 103
• References 105
• APPENDIX A “Family Environment Scale: Achievement and Intellectual-Orientation Items” 149
• APPENDIX B “Full Table of Moderated Mediation Conditional Effects” 150
• APPENDIX C “Sensitivity Analysis” 151
• APPENDIX D “Model Fit Indices for Determining Optimal Number of Clusters in K-Means Analysis” 153
• Abstract in Korean 155