There is substantial evidence that good academic performance significantly enhances the prospects of success for adolescents in terms of employment, social status, quality of life and health. Identifying which factors are correlated to good academic achievement and which factors may need to be addressed by policies is crucial. Despite its importance, there is insufficient data concerning factors associated with academic achievement in the Middle East, particularly Lebanon. This study assessed the association of lifestyle, socio-demographics and motivational factors with academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents. Grade 10 and 11 Lebanese adolescents aged 15 to 18 years (n = 600), from private and public schools in Beirut and the Mount Lebanon area, completed a multi-component questionnaire assessing health behaviors, socio-demographic characteristics and motivational factors. Height and weight were physically measured and, subsequently, Body Mass Index was calculated. Academic achievement was assessed using self-reported grades and was categorized into high and low. Associations between all factors and academic achievement were tested using logistic regression models. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet, high self-efficacy and intention were positively associated with academic achievement, whereas smoking was associated with poor achievement. Our findings support the need for targeting adolescents with an unhealthier lifestyle and focusing on socio-cognitive determinants interventions aimed at enhancing academic achievement.

Background The aim of this prospective study is to examine how parenting style relates to academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents and test the mediating effect of self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades. Potential moderation by demographic factors (age, gender, school type, religion and parents’ education) was also examined. Methods Students (n = 345) from private and public schools in Mount Lebanon and Beirut area, aged between 15 and 18, participated in a two-wave longitudinal study and completed a self-administered questionnaire based on the I-Change Model assessing socio-demographics (age, gender, school type, parents’ education, family structure, religion), socio-cognitive factors (attitude, social norms, self-efficacy, intention), parenting styles and academic achievement. Adolescent were surveyed at two time points, six months apart. A multiple linear regression was carried out to identify baseline factors independently associated with academic achievement 6 months later. Moderation was examined using Hayes’s SPSS macro PROCESS. A serial mediation model was employed to test for the sequential mediating effect of self-efficacy and intention between parenting style and academic achievement. Results Authoritative parenting was prospectively associated with better academic achievement and higher self-efficacy and intention at 6 months follow up. In addition, self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades were found to mediate the relationship of parenting style to academic achievement. Adolescents who perceive their parents as authoritative are more likely to develop high efficacy beliefs and higher intention and subsequently are more likely to achieve better in school compared to peers of neglectful parents. Socio-demographics did not moderate the effect of parenting on academic achievement. Conclusion Authoritative parenting influenced both directly and indirectly the academic achievement of their children. Interventions aiming at improving academic performance of adolescents should also encompass positive parenting style strategies.

This longitudinal study aims to examine how changes in health behaviors and socio-cognitive factors influence the academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents over a period of 12 months. Adolescents (n = 563) from private and public schools in Mount Lebanon and the Beirut area, aged between 15 and 18, participated in a three-wave longitudinal study and completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing socio-demographics, health behaviors, socio-cognitive factors, parenting styles, and academic achievement. A linear mixed model was carried out to examine if changes in health behaviors and cognitive factors affect changes in academic achievement after 6 and 12 months from the baseline, adjusting for demographic variables and parenting style. Results show that improved adherence to the Mediterranean diet and an increase in self-efficacy were associated with an increase in academic achievement. An increase in adherence to the Mediterranean diet had the same effect on academic achievement 6 and 12 months from the baseline, whereas an increase in efficacy beliefs was only significantly associated with achievement at 12 months from the baseline. This study supports the longitudinal link between diet quality and efficacy beliefs with the academic achievement of adolescents. This relationship is independent of sex, age, religion, parents’ education, and raising styles.