Self-esteem, family function, and school achievement of adolescents

Objective. To determine the relationship between academic achievement, self-esteem and family function in adolescents. Design. Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Setting. State secondary school in Queretaro state, Mexico. Participants. Seventy-four adolescents of both sexes between the ages of 10 and 17, enrolled in a state secondary school. Two groups of 37 pupils were formed, chosen by simple randomized sampling according to high or low academic achievement. Participants were clinically healthy and prior informed consent for their participation was obtained. Main measurements. Self-esteem based on self-concept format A, family function based on FACES III and academic achievement based on the school evaluation scale. A descriptive statistical analysis and the X-2 test were used (P <.05). Results. Pupils with high academic achievement had high self-esteem, 68% (P=.00007; OR, 7.55; 95% CI 2.39-24.84); a functional family, 54% (P=.011); were mainly female, 73% (P=.018); age, 13 (60%) (P=.062); school in the morning, 95% (P=.000); and were in second grade, 46% (P=.026). Pupils with low academic achievement had low self-esteem, 78% (P=.00007; OR, 7.55; 95% CI, 2.39-24.84); came from borderline-function families, 43% (P=.47); were male, 54% (P=.018; OR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.08-9.48); age 13, 38% (P=.062); in afternoon school, 76% 16 (P=.00); and were in first grade, 43% (P=.144). Upon establishing a relationship between academic achievement and family dynamics, it was found that family dysfunction is a risk factor (OR, 6.67; 95% CI, 1.42-34). Conclusions. Low self-esteem and family dysfunction are risk factors for low academic achievement.