Parent-child interactions play a vital role in students' learning and development. In today's families, these interactions occur in diverse ways—sometimes squeezed into busy routines, sometimes through digital tools—and tend to be brief and fragmented. As a result, the frequency of interaction has become a meaningful reflection of consistent parental involvement. Gender differences also warrant attention. Prior research has indicated that girls tend to interact more frequently with parents than boys, yet boys' achievement is not necessarily weaker, suggesting different psychological pathways. Most studies focus on achievement, with less attention to underlying psychological mechanisms.


This study conducted a secondary analysis using PISA 2022 data from 17,304 students in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Missing data were addressed with multiple imputation. The analysis was carried out in R using multi-group SEM to examine the mediating role of learning anxiety, and Wald tests were applied to assess gender differences.


The results revealed three key findings.
(1) Communication frequency and learning behaviors:
More frequent parent-child discussions about schoolwork and daily life were linked to stronger mathematics learning behaviors, such as more active class participation and attentiveness.
(2) Partial positive mediation of learning anxiety:
Frequent communication was associated with higher anxiety, which in turn fostered more active learning behaviors.
(3) No significant gender difference:
Boys and girls showed a similar pattern with frequent communication, experiencing higher anxiety alongside stronger learning behaviors. This suggests that all students benefit from regular parental interaction.


Parent-child communication frequency is related not only to students' emotions but also to their concrete behaviors. For parents, this may help ease concerns, as simply keeping regular conversations can support positive mathematics learning behaviors for both boys and girls. At the same time, the findings suggest that moderate levels of anxiety may sometimes motivate greater effort, reflecting its complex role in learning.