Academic Underachievements

In this study, the role of need for cognition, achievement motivation, and conscientiousness on academic underachievement was investigated. Forty-seven male and 46 female students in Grades 7 to 10 participated in the study. Student attributes were assessed by self-report measures, school performance by academic grades, and intellectual abilities by a standardized structure of intelligence test. A regression analytic model (prediction of grade point average by general intelligence) was used to operationally define underachievement. A categorical cutoff definition as well as a continuous definition was investigated. All relationships between underachievement scores and need for cognition, achievement motivation scales, and conscientiousness showed linearity. This warranted the use of a continuous definition of underachievement. Results revealed that need for cognition as well as facilitating anxiety contributed the most to the explanation of underachievement. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 401–411, 2006.
The Prevalence of Academic Underachievement in Hyperactive Children
Dennis P. Cantwell and James H. Satterfield
Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Gateways Clinic Los Angeles California
Reprint requests should be sent to Dennis P. Cantwell. Department of Psychiatry. Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of California. 760 Westwood Plaza. Los Angeles, CA 90024.
This study investigated academic underachievement in hyperactive children. Ninety-four hyperactive boys ages 6 through 11 years with full-scale WISC IQs of at least 85 constituted the experimental group. Hyperactivity was defined as excessive general motor activity, difficulty sustaining attention, and impulsive behavior, all present for at least 1 year. Fifty-four normals matched as closely as possible for IQ, age, sex, and race 3erved as controls. "Predicted" grades" were computed for each of the children based on a multiple regression analysis using...