The Attention Skills and Academic Performance of Aggressive/Rejected and Low Aggressive/Popular Children

Research Findings: Aggressive/rejected children are at risk for continuing conduct and school problems. Some limited research indicates that these children have attention problems. Previous research has linked attention problems with academic performance. The current study investigated group differences in attention skills and the role of these skills in children's academic performance. Kindergarten and 1st-grade children (n = 54, 52% female) were identified as either aggressive/rejected or low aggressive/popular by peer sociometric interviews. Attention was assessed with a novel computer task, the Children's Space Game, as well as parent and teacher report. Teachers reported on children's academic performance. Aggressive/rejected children had lower adult-reported attention skills and academic performance than low aggressive/popular children. Aggressive/rejected children also had lower skills on the computer task. Support was found for an additive model of the influence of children's status and attention skills on their academic performance even after controlling for maternal education and family income but no evidence was found that attention moderated the relation between children's status and their academic performance. Practice or Policy: Aggressive/rejected children appear at significant risk for attention problems and these problems predict their academic performance. Future research should investigate whether these children would benefit from additional support of their attention skills.