The causal ordering among the quality of relationships with parents and friends and academic motivation

![CDATA[Motivational theories not only argue that the quality of interpersonal relationships with peers and parents play an important role in predicting adolescents' academic motivation but also that adolescents' motivation could play a role in predicting the quality of interpersonal relationships with parents and friends. Indeed, non-motivated adolescents could elicit negative behaviours from parents and friends who value school related work. However, few methodologically sound studies have tested these reciprocal relations. The purpose of the present study was to test the causal ordering among these variables by using a three years longitudinal study. A total of 834 adolescents aged of 17 years participate to the study. Results from the complex structural equation models provided relatively good support for reciprocal relations between the quality of relationship with parents and academic motivation. Nevertheless, no significant relation was found between the quality of relationship with friends and academic motivation. This last finding is surprising giving the fact that some developmental models argue that friends are more important in late adolescence than parents.]]