conclusions the current study showed significant association between the rosenberg self-esteem test results and smoking, and illegal drug abuse like heroin, pills, alcohol, nas, and other substances. therefore, increasing self-esteem is essential for preventing the adolescents’ emotional and behavioral disorders. this fact could guide us to the new approaches for smoking and drug-abuse preventi...

This study examined mathematics anxiety among high and low achieving students (N = 237, grades 9 and 10) by contrasting trait (habitual) and state (momentary) assessments of anxiety. Previous studies have found that trait anxiety measures are typically rated higher than state measures. Furthermore, the academic self concept has been identified to play a moderating role in the trait state discre...

The School Situation Survey (SSS) is a 34-item instrument designed to assess “school-related student stress” in grades 4 through 12. Comprising seven scales, the SSS provides separate scores for four “sources” of stress: Teacher Interactions (“students’ perceptions of their teachers’ attitudes toward them”), Academic Stress (“situations that relate to academic performance or achievement”), Peer...

Because literacy skills are critical for most academic subject matters, researchers have become increasingly interested in understanding children’s motivation in this domain as a way to increase academic success. In this study, we extend previous work by looking at the heterogeneity of children’s motivational changes in literacy across Grades 1–12. We used a cross-sequential design based on 3 d...

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between student achievement and self-concept of science/mathematics by using a combined model consisting of the internal/external frame of reference (I/E) and the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) models in three high-performing East Asian countries. The samples were from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 20...

BACKGROUND Securing appropriate challenge or preventing boredom is one of the reasons frequently used to justify ability grouping of gifted students, which has been shown to have beneficial effects for achievement. On the other hand, critics stress psychosocial costs, such as detrimental effects on academic self-concept (contrast or big-fish-little-pond effect). AIM The effects of full-time a...

It has been speculated that the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE; the negative impact of highly selective academic settings on academic self-concept) is a consequence of invidious social comparisons experienced in higher ability schools. However, the direct role of such comparisons for the BFLPE has not heretofore been documented. The present study comprises the first evidence that the BFLPE ...

BACKGROUND To identify non-cognitive and socio-demographic characteristics determining academic success of Sri Lankan medical undergraduates. METHODS A retrospective study among 90 recently graduated students of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. Students were stratified into two equal groups; 'High-achievers' (honours degree at the final MBBS exami...