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Longitudinal Study of Young Children's Responses to Challenging Achievement Situations
Author(s) -
Ziegert Dannah I.,
Kistner Janet A.,
Castro Rafael,
Robertson Bruce
Publication year - 2001
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 - 10.1111/1467-8624.00300
Subject(s) - learned helplessness , psychology , developmental psychology , academic achievement , task (project management) , intervention (counseling) , cognition , el niño , medicine , surgery , management , neuroscience , psychiatry , economics
Three studies were conducted to replicate and extend Dweck's findings regarding young children's responses to challenging achievement situations. Dweck's dichotomous helplessness classification system (i.e., task choice, task choice reason) was replicated with kindergartners, n = 235 (50% male), and first graders, n =70 (46% male). To test whether individual differences in young children's responses to challenging situations are stable over time, 1‐ and 5‐year follow‐ups of the kindergartners were conducted. On the basis of children's responses on age‐appropriate behavioral tasks, a composite of cognitive, behavioral, and affective helplessness indices predicted helplessness at 1 and 5 years later, n = 114 (50% male), above and beyond kindergarten task ability and gender, p < .05. Kindergarten helplessness predicted teacher ratings of children's helplessness 5 years later as well, p < .05. The implications of these findings for early intervention are discussed.