Psychosocial profile and academic achievement in a selective sample of preparatory school students

Aim: To assess psychosocial variables including self-esteem, depression, anxiety symptoms and academic achievement in a selective sample of preparatory school students. Participants: This is a school based cross sectional study. The sample consisted of all students in the preparatory stage in a private school of both sexes, age ranged from 12-15 years. The sample was divided according to the academic performance of the student based on the overall grade of each student at the end of the school year into: Insufficient 60%, Sufficient 60-70%, Good 70-80% and Very good 80%. Method: All students were given a questionnaire to assess personal data, family background, past history of medical or psychiatric condition, scholastic achievement and psychometric tools: including Porteus maze, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, Children Depression Inventory (CDI) and, the Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. Results: The higher the grades of students, the higher the level of anxiety and this was statistically significant. Girls had higher levels of anxiety than boys and this reached a statistically significant difference. There was significant correlation between depression and academic achievement of students. Self-esteem was significantly correlated with academic achievement. Conclusion: Depression has a significant role in academic performance of adolescents. Self-esteem of adolescents is highly related to their academic achievement.