Abstract

Clinical and educational research places emphasis on the emotional and motivational factors which characterise learning disabilities. The aim of this research is to study the relationship between the school anxiety, the school self-esteem and the employ of self-handicapping strategies in children with dyscalculia and normal learning. Sixty pupils attending third grade junior school were given a battery of tests assessing emotional and motivational variables. On the whole, the results show that children with dyscalculia have higher levels of anxiety and lower self-esteem. Moreover, the anxiety seems to influence the self-esteem only in the group of children with normal learning.