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Children's Over‐ and Underestimation of Academic Competence: A Longitudinal Study of Gender Differences, Depression, and Anxiety
Author(s) -
Cole David A.,
Martin Joan M.,
Peeke Lachlan A.,
Seroczynski A. D.,
Fier Jonathan
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8624.00033
Subject(s) - psychology , anxiety , developmental psychology , competence (human resources) , longitudinal study , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , psychiatry , social psychology , medicine , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
A total of 807 third and sixth graders completed questionnaires about their academic competence, feelings of depression, and symptoms of anxiety, every 6 months for 3 years. Teachers provided objective measures of academic competence. Compared to teachers' ratings, boys overestimated and girls underestimated their academic competence. Gender differences first emerged in fourth or fifth grade and increased through eighth grade. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were negatively associated with academic overestimation. Furthermore, controlling for depression and anxiety eliminated most of the gender differences in academic over‐ and underestimation. Finally, self‐reported depression and anxiety predicted changes in the tendency to overestimate academic competence over time. Evidence of the reverse relation was much weaker.