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

2002/06/01 by Eva M. Pomerantz, Ellen Rydell Altermatt, Jill L. Saxon · 6 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Early Childhood Education and Development #Parental Involvement in Education

paper · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.94.2.396

crossref issued 2002/06/01 · crossref published 2002/06/01 · crossref published-online 2002/06/01 · openalex publication_date 2002/06/01 · crossref created 2005/10/07 · crossref deposited 2024/02/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/06/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01

Abstract

There is disagreement over whether girls or boys are at risk in the context of school. Girls outperform boys in school, particularly in stereotypically feminine subjects. However, girls are also more vulnerable to internal distress than boys are. The aim of this research was to understand this pattern of gender differences. Gender differences in academic performance and internal distress were examined in elementary school children moving into adolescence. Girls outperformed boys across all 4 subjects but were also more prone to internal distress than boys were. Girls doing poorly in school were the most vulnerable to internal distress. However, even girls doing well in school were more vulnerable than boys

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