The aim of this study was to characterize the self-perceptions of boys experiencing difficulties with school, as well as to ascertain the connection between these perceptions and indices of academic performance and behavioral problems. In a university-based clinic linked to the public health system, we assessed 50 boys, with complaints about school, between the ages of 6 and 11. The instruments used were, Raven Colored Progressive Matrices Test, School Performance Test, Self-Efficacy Assessment Form, Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, Child Behavior Checklist. Results showed both global self-concept and self-efficacy to correlate modestly but significantly with academic performance measures. The self-concept of happiness correlated with all measures of school performance, while self-concept in terms of intellectual and academic status did not correlate with school performance at all. Self-perceptions bore no association with behavioral problems. There is a need for further studies to clarify this pattern of associations.
Selfconcept; Selfefficacy; Behavior; Academic achievement
