




































 

 

 

 

 

Lenient-Understanding Parenting and 

the Academic Grit of Secondary School 

Students: The Mediating Effects of 

Academic Interest and the Sense of 

Meaning in Study 

Xiaona Li, 1,2 Xiaohua Li, 1 Huashan Liu2
 

 
1. School of Education, Long Dong University, Qingyang 745000, Gansu, 

China. 
2. School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, 

Hubei, China. 
 

 

Abstract: The study investigates how lenient-understanding 

parenting affects the academic grit of secondary school students 
from the perspective of positive psychology, based on a 

questionnaire survey of 2,101 secondary school students. Its 
research findings reveal a significantly positive correlation between 

lenient-understanding parenting and student academic grit, which 

is mediated by student academic interest and the student’s sense of 
meaning in study. 

Best Evidence in Chinese Education 2025; 20(1):1965-1968 

DOI: 10.15354/bece.25.ar150 

How to Cite: Li, X., Li, X., & Liu, H. (2025). Lenient-understanding parenting 

and the academic grit of secondary school students: The mediating effects of 

academic interest and the sense of meaning in study. Best Evidence in Chinese 

Education, 2025, 20(1):1965-1968. 

Keywords: Lenient-Understanding Parenting; Academic Grit; Academic Interest; 

Sense of Meaning in Study 

 

 

 

 



Wang. (China). The Impact of Teacher Leadership. 

BECE, Vol.20, No.1, 2025 1966 

About the Author: Xiaona Li, School of Education, Long Dong University, Qingyang 745000, Gansu, China; 

School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, China. E-mail: hzd76@163.com   

Correspondence to: Xiaona Li at Long Dong University and Central China Normal University in China. 

Conflict of Interests: None 

Funding: No funding sources declared. 

AI Declaration: The author affirms that artificial intelligence did not contribute to the process of preparing the 

work. 

Introduction 

his study investigates the relationship between lenient-understanding 

parenting and the academic grit of secondary school students and 

analyzes the mediating effects of student academic interest and the 

student’s sense of meaning in study on the relationship, from the perspective 

of positive psychology. The study’s results reveal the positive effects of 

lenient-understanding parenting on academic progress of secondary school 

students, which provide new perspectives on school and home education, as 

well as evidence for relevant education policies and practices.  

Research Methodology 

Sources of Data 

Using the method of cluster sampling, the study surveyed 2,300 secondary 

school students through questionnaires. A total of 2,101 valid questionnaires 

(97.72% of the questionnaires distributed) were retrieved. The sample 

consists of 1,233 male and 868 female students, with an average age of 

16.012 years. Among them, 681 were junior secondary, 1,164 senior 

secondary, and 256 vocational students. 

The Analysis Model and Variables 

A mediating effect model was created to facilitate a thorough examination of 

how lenient-understanding parenting affects the academic grit of secondary 

school students. In this model, lenient-understanding parenting is the core 

explanatory variable, measured with the Parenting Style Questionnaire 

developed by Zhang and Liu (2013). Student academic grit is the dependent 

variable, assessed with the Secondary School Student Grit Self-Report Scale 

created by Li et al. (2020). For a more precise evaluation of the effects of 

lenient-understanding parenting on student academic grit, the study 

introduces two mediating variables, namely student academic interest and 

the student’s sense of meaning in study. They are measured with the Interest-

Enjoyment Subscale from the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (Markland & 

Hardy, 1997) and the subscale with the items on the meaning of study and its 

T 

mailto:hzd76@163.com


Wang. (China). The Impact of Teacher Leadership. 

BECE, Vol.20, No.1, 2025 1967 

pursuit from the Senses of Meaning in Life Scale (adapted by Cheng et al., 

2019), respectively. The study conducts Pearson correlation analysis and 

mediation effect analysis via Model 6 of the PROCESS macro developed by 

Hayes, using the software SPSS 24.0. 

Research Findings 

 There is a significant positive correlation between lenient-

understanding parenting and student academic grit (r = 0.268, p < 

0.01), indicating that this parenting style can directly predict student 

academic grit. 

 Student academic interest and the student’s sense of meaning in 

study have significant mediating effects on the relationship between 

lenient-understanding parenting and student academic grit, 

including (i) the independent mediating effect of student academic 

interest, with an effect size of 0.091, accounting for 34.04% of the 

total effect; (ii) the independent mediating effect of the student’s 

sense of meaning in study, with an effect size of 0.005, accounting 

for 1.91% of the total effect; (iii) the chain mediating effect of 

student academic interest and the student’s sense of meaning in 

study, with an effect size of 0.013, accounting for 4.89% of the total 

effect. The combined mediation effects account for 40.84% of the 

total effect, with student academic interest contributing the most 

(34.04%).  

 Lenient-understanding parenting heightens student academic grit by 

fostering their academic interest and senses of meaning in study. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Creative Commons NonCommercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the 
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(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of 

the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed by the Insights Publisher. 

 

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LUSLg_agSSHdSNRCaZVw-

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The Chinese version of this article has been published in Psychological Research, 2025; 18(01): 79-

87. The English version has been authorized for being publication in BECE by the author(s) and the 

Chinese journal. 

黎晓娜,李晓华,刘华山,龚少英. (2025).宽容理解教养方式与中学生学业坚毅品质的关系：学业兴
趣及学业意义感的中介效应. 心理研究，18(01): 79-87. 

 

 

Received: December 19, 2025 

Revised: February 02, 2025 

Accepted: April 10, 2025

 

https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=XMmmt_ij6VHSkP4DSSRKCbhwcIchIeS6BOijBaLNNHLUSLg_agSSHdSNRCaZVw-1t7zn2Whl0hdcNidUtqNgniIB1x4eOmDcRnoTLQxsAyzSncTVa4brnXdejtbbVy9OE5gHwbROO6jtXcBofju6Woyo-73zgTabX2XeAPI5PH91ylMcUEwhXA==&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS
https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=XMmmt_ij6VHSkP4DSSRKCbhwcIchIeS6BOijBaLNNHLUSLg_agSSHdSNRCaZVw-1t7zn2Whl0hdcNidUtqNgniIB1x4eOmDcRnoTLQxsAyzSncTVa4brnXdejtbbVy9OE5gHwbROO6jtXcBofju6Woyo-73zgTabX2XeAPI5PH91ylMcUEwhXA==&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS
https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=XMmmt_ij6VHSkP4DSSRKCbhwcIchIeS6BOijBaLNNHLUSLg_agSSHdSNRCaZVw-1t7zn2Whl0hdcNidUtqNgniIB1x4eOmDcRnoTLQxsAyzSncTVa4brnXdejtbbVy9OE5gHwbROO6jtXcBofju6Woyo-73zgTabX2XeAPI5PH91ylMcUEwhXA==&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS
https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=XMmmt_ij6VHSkP4DSSRKCbhwcIchIeS6BOijBaLNNHLUSLg_agSSHdSNRCaZVw-1t7zn2Whl0hdcNidUtqNgniIB1x4eOmDcRnoTLQxsAyzSncTVa4brnXdejtbbVy9OE5gHwbROO6jtXcBofju6Woyo-73zgTabX2XeAPI5PH91ylMcUEwhXA==&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS
https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1997.10608863
https://doi.org/10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2013.03.009

