Children who experience academically failure as first graders are at risk for depression and lowered self-perceptions five years later, according to a new study from the University of Missouri.

Dr. Keith Herman and his colleagues assessed 474 students in first grade, and followed up with them when they entered middle school. Students who were struggling with math and reading as primary grade students held more negative self-beliefs as middle schoolers, and felt that they had less control over the outcomes in their lives.

Dr. Herman wrote that it is important for every child to feel successful in some area, such as music, athletics, or social skills, because "children's individual differences will always exist in academic skills."

Labels: depression, self-esteem, failures

Posted By: Aspen Education Group