Coping With Academic Failure: Gender Differences in Students' Self-Reported Interactions With Family Members and Friends

• NCJ Number: 220501
• Journal: Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2007 Pages: 479-508
• Author(s): Ellen Rydell Altermatt
• Date Published: November 2007
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): BCS-0236678
• Sponsoring Agency: Michigan State University; National Science Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined gender differences in the interactions that early-adolescent students reported having with significant others following academic failure and the consequences of these interactions for students' anxiety about their school performance.

Abstract

Gender differences were found in students' reports of their postfailure interactions and the consequences of these interactions for student anxiety about school performance. Girls, especially younger girls, were more likely than boys to report seeking social support as a general strategy for coping with academic failure at both time points. This gender difference was stronger for interactions with friends than family members. Girls and boys did not differ, however, in their reported likelihood of sharing news of an academic failure with family members. Girls were more likely than boys to receive the information and social support they desired following academic failure. Boys were more likely than girls to report being told that their failure was because of a lack of ability. Despite the gender differences that would suggest girls would cope more effectively with academic failure than boys, the girls in this study experienced significantly higher levels of worry about their school performance than boys. One explanation for this finding is that sharing academic failure with friends may show a preoccupation with school performance, which in turn leads to more anxiety about failing to meet academic expectations. Study participants were 293 students (155 girls and 138 boys) in the fifth (n=83), sixth (n=69), seventh (n=65), and eighth (n=76) grades. Students' general strategies for coping with academic failure were assessed with the Self-Report Coping Scale. Students' social interactions following academic failure were assessed with a measure developed for this study. Levels of academic worry were assessed with four statements about how much the student worried about school performance. 3 tables, 3 figures, and 68 references