Self-esteem and anxiety in the educational histories of adult dyslexic students

Abstract

The self-esteem, anxiety and past and present educational histories of 16 dyslexic university students and 16 matched controls were compared. Self-esteem was measured using the Culture-free Self-esteem Inventory and anxiety was measured with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. A questionnaire devised by the research team was used to gather information on past and present educational histories, including a number of questions that could be rated on a five point scale. The dyslexic group was found to have significantly lower self-esteem than the controls. On the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory there was no significant difference between the groups. On the five point rating scales the dyslexic group reported themselves as feeling more anxious and less competent in their written work at school than the controls and rated themselves at university as less competent both in their written work and in their academic achievements.

Executive functions in adults with developmental dyslexia

“…It is possible that the participants with dyslexia rated themselves as having more problems with EF due to the lowered self-esteem often associated with the condition (e.g., McNulty, 2003;Riddick, Sterling, Farmer & Morgan, 1999). However, the group with dyslexia did not produce Negativity scores that differed significantly from those of the controls (nor were there differences on the other two measures of BRIEF-A validity, namely Inconsistency and Infrequency).…”

Beyond cognitive deficit: the everyday lived experience of dyslexic students at university

“…While this kind of pressure may be felt more widely, it is arguably of greater concern for students who have additional difficulties with word finding or clarity when speaking, and in students who are more likely to experience learning-related anxiety. There is significant evidence that people with dyslexia experience higher levels of anxiety and stress (Carroll and Iles 2006;riddick et al 1999), and some evidence that there is specific anxiety linked to self-doubt about one's intelligence in academic contexts (mugnaini et al 2009;Polychroni, Koukouri, and anagnostou 2006), which has a knock on effect for self-esteem and subsequent decisions to opt out; and potentially leads to a conclusion they should 'forget it. It's not worth it ' (mcnulty 2003, 371).…”

“…Yet there is strong evidence that people with the dyslexia label do face particular difficulties in relation to specific difficulties in particular cognitive domains (for example, Nicolson and Fawcett 2008;Shaywitz and Shaywitz 2005;Snowling 1995;Stein 2001) and that these have implications for study in higher education (Farmer, riddick, and Sterling 2002;Hatcher, Snowling, and Griffiths 2002;Mortimore and Crozier 2006;Pino and Mortari 2014). There is also evidence that dyslexic adults have lower self-esteem in educational contexts (Carroll and Iles 2006;Madriaga 2007;Riddick et al 1999), and often have to manage memories of very challenging experiences at school which continue to impact upon their adult educational experiences (for example , Madriaga 2007;Mcnulty 2003). Some of these students also seem to find a lack of understanding of the difficulties they face (for example, riddick 2003); or they experience social discomfort in relation to dyslexia (for example, Hellendoorn and Ruijssenaars 2000).…”

Emerging Adulthood and Developmental Co-ordination Disorder

“…In the field of Dyslexia, there has been specific work about experiences in further and higher education by Pollak (2003), Riddick ( 1999) and…”