Making the grade but feeling distressed: gender differences in academic performance and internal distress

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Gender

What did the research find?

The study found that:

girls did better in school subjects such as English, maths and humanities. On the other hand, boys achieved more highly in science;
girls suffered more from mental distress than boys regardless of their performance in school. Girls also suffered more from anxiety, worrying and depression and they had a lower self-esteem;
girls who were lower achievers seemed to be more prone to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem (self-worth);
girls worried more than boys about how well they did in school;
adolescent schoolchildren were particularly vulnerable to stress. This was especially the case for girls; and
boys suffered less from mental distress. They were less concerned when they failed and, therefore, did not feel disappointed. However, previous studies have suggested that boys tend to express their mental anguish through verbal and physical aggression.

To find out more about the findings see the next page

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction What did the researchers aim to do? What did the research find? Why do girls suffer more stress than boys but perform better at school? How was the research designed? What do the researcher's conclude about how we should respond to children's stress? Implications Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests Teaching Children How to Use Language to Solve Maths Problems To view/remove/add notes and save your collated digests click here Get Word Reader Making the grade but feeling distressed: gender differences in academic performance and internal distress This digest found in Gender Send to a friend Word doc 110KB Printer friendly Collate for later What did the research find? The study found that: girls did better in school subjects such as English, maths and humanities. On the other hand, boys achieved more highly in science; girls suffered more from mental distress than boys regardless of their performance in school. Girls also suffered more from anxiety, worrying and depression and they had a lower self-esteem; girls who were lower achievers seemed to be more prone to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem (self-worth); girls worried more than boys about how well they did in school; adolescent schoolchildren were particularly vulnerable to stress. This was especially the case for girls; and boys suffered less from mental distress. They were less concerned when they failed and, therefore, did not feel disappointed. However, previous studies have suggested that boys tend to express their mental anguish through verbal and physical aggression. To find out more about the findings see the next page