When Parents Press for Achievement: The Relationship between Academic Stress, Insomnia, Adolescent-Parent Relationships, and Life Satisfaction

This study aimed to examine the relationships among parental achievement pressure, adolescent-parent relationships, academic stress, insomnia, and life satisfaction in high-achieving students. Data were collected from 327 science high school students (162 females [49.5%], 165 males [50.5%]) aged between 14 and 18 years old (Mean = 15.98, SD = 1.22). Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze the data. Parental achievement pressure predicted academic stress and adolescent-parent relationships; academic stress predicted insomnia; both insomnia and adolescent-parent relationships predicted life satisfaction. Academic stress and insomnia had multiple mediator roles between parental achievement pressure and life satisfaction. Adolescent-parent relationships had a mediating role between parental achievement pressure and life satisfaction. Regarding indirect relationships between the variables, it was found that parental achievement pressure could predict life satisfaction through academic stress, insomnia, and adolescent-parent relationships. Variables explained approximately 42% of the total variance regarding life satisfaction. The findings suggest complex relationships among parental achievement pressure, adolescent-parent relationships, academic stress, insomnia, and life satisfaction in high-achieving students. These results highlight the importance of addressing parental achievement pressure, academic stress, and insomnia to improve life satisfaction among high-achieving students. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.