Background: Based on learned helplessness theory and conservation of resources theory, the present study explores the role of schools' social environments (i.e., school belonging, school exclusion, and teacher-student relationships) as potential buffers and amplifiers in students' development of learned helplessness during adolescence. Aims: We…

School alienation is a complex phenomenon that has recently attracted considerable attention from psychologists because of the negative consequences that may result from it, such as poor academic performance, learning difficulties, school disengagement, behavioral problems, and withdrawal from the educational system, which interfere with students'…

The aim of the present study was to examine the interplay between test anxiety (i.e. worry and emotionality) and learned helplessness in a sample of adolescents (N = 845, aged 13-17 years) in secondary schools in Germany. In accordance with the buffering hypothesis, it was hypothesised that the detrimental association between both components of…

It is well known that teachers frequently observe a decline in the scholastic motivation of many adolescent students, which in turn is often associated with a decline in students' individual school self-concept. In contrast, less is known about the association between students' individual school self-concept and school engagement, or the related…

Over the past half century, in the United States and other developed nations, children's free play with other children has declined sharply. Over the same period, anxiety, depression, suicide, feelings of helplessness, and narcissism have increased sharply in children, adolescents, and young adults. This article documents these historical changes…

Visual impaired adolescents have mixed emotions, that is feelings of helplessness, confusion, disbelief, powerlessness, fear, shamefulness and anxiety. They generally consider themselves as inferior beings. They are beset by predominantly negative images and view themselves as either a source of trouble or in trouble. In bringing this view, one of…

This study set out to identify the kinds of achievement orientations that adolescents show, and to examine the kinds of antecedents and consequences the use of a particular orientation has. The participants were 734 Swedish adolescents (335 boys and 399 girls) who filled in questionnaires measuring their achievement beliefs and behaviors,…

There are students in school who have experienced trauma. Generally traumatic events evoke feelings of extreme fear and helplessness. Reactions to traumatic events are determined by the subjective experience of the adolescent, which could be impacted by developmental and cultural factors. What is extremely traumatic for one student may be less so…

In order to investigate sex-role identity and learned helplessness as possible mediating factors affecting performance on formal operational tasks, the responses of 60 male and female adolescents were assessed. Contrary to expectations, the performances of individuals with feminine versus masculine sex roles did not differ significantly.…

Evaluates whether anxiety, event valence and demographic variables influence relationship between helplessness and depression. Results showed: adolescents with anxiety and depression from lower socioeconomic backgrounds made less helpless attributions for negative events; and African-American adolescents showed less helpless attributions for…

Tested reformulated learned helplessness theory of depression with adolescent inpatients (N=63) diagnosed as depressed, conduct disordered, or both. Adolescents with major depressive diagnosis differed from nondepressed adolescents with significantly lower attributional style scores for positive events. Subjects who reported more severe depression…

Recent work in attribution theory has shown the importance of not only the distinction between beliefs in internal and external causes, but also between relatively fixed, stable causes and those more unstable and subject to change. The relationships of causal attributions for success and failure in achievement and social affiliation with…

Investigates the effects of a helplessness experience on the subsequent performance of deaf adolescents functioning at mildly underachieving or severely underachieving levels. Results indicate high post-test error scores among severely underachieving deaf adolescents experiencing an unsolvable pretreatment situation. Recommendations offer…

Study looked to determine the strength of the relationship between smoking, depression, intention to smoke, and several psychosocial and environmental factors. Participants completed the Multiscore Depression Inventory (MDI) and items regarding smoking behavior. Analyses found that participants were more likely to smoke if parents smoked, if…

Individual differences in same-aged children's reasoning about effort and ability, as well as the consequences of different forms of reasoning in actual achievement situations, were investigated. It was hypothesized that different forms of children's reasoning would be related to different (helpless versus mastery-oriented) motivational patterns.…