This study investigates the influence of family structure during adolescent on college entry and success using the more recently available Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (PETS) data of the High School and Beyond (HS&B) sophomore cohort to predict college entry, baccalaureate degree completion, and persistence in the science, math, technology, and engineering pipeline at the collegiate level. I propose that family structure not only influences adolescents' preparation for higher education, but also their ability to commit to and persevere within higher education. While traditional studies of student achievement and persistence have focused on socioeconomic status or academic ability, I explore family dynamics in attempting to explain the disadvantage adolescents from non-intact families experience within higher education. While controlling for family income and parents education, this study specifically explores parental involvement, parent's educational aspirations, and family disruption as potential mechanisms that might account for the disadvantage adolescents from non-intact families experience in terms of higher education. The findings in this study indicate that single parent families and stepparent families should be analyzed as distinct groups for greater accuracy and understanding. Moreover, parental involvement, turbulence, and parental expectations as measured in high school influence the life course of young adults in their postsecondary pursuits. The present study contributes significantly to our understanding of families, family processes and higher education conceptually, and its findings have implications for education policy. / text

This study explored how various intrapersonal, familial, and life-goal characteristics related to the academic and personal success of first semester early college entrants attending the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) at the University of North Texas. The study sought to identify which intrapersonal factors and external factors affected grades, behavioral markers, and life satisfaction during the students' first semester at TAMS. Baseline data from TAMS entrance material such as standardized achievement test scores, previous grade point averages (GPA's), advanced courses taken, and other academic activities and awards were collected. Data were also collected from the students prior to their entry to the start of TAMS related to family cohesiveness, motivation, and career goals. Data from parents were gathered prior to the start of TAMS regarding parenting styles, demographics, parents' educational levels, careers, and income levels, as well as the child's homework, extracurricular activities, and other time demands. First semester grades, a measure of life satisfaction since the program began, and behavior reports from staff members were used as outcome/success indicators. These additional data were used to examine the relationship between success and familial/interpersonal/life goal factors.