The relationship of personal problems to academic achievement among junior high school students in a rural area of Newfoundland

The major purpose of this study was to investigate whether the number of personal problems of underachievers at the junior high school level is greater than the number of personal problems of average and overachievers. The variables of school, grade, sex, and intelligence were also examined in relationship to personal problems. -- During the months of February, March, and April, the data were collected for the study by means of a standardized test and teacher-made tests. On the basis of these results for the population of 455 junior high school students on the Trinity South Shore, ninety were randomly selected for the study. These students, who represented the population, fell into three distinct groups: thirty overachievers, thirty average achievers, and thirty underachievers. In May, the sample of students was given the Mooney Problem Check List. -- The data collected from the Check Lists were treated first in a descriptive manner and then by statistical analysis. The t-test of the difference between means for independent samples was used to test the difference between achievement groups, and also for areas of adjustment, grades, and sex. The Pearson product-moment correlation was used to investigate the relationship of intelligence to personal problems. -- The major findings of the study suggested that underachievers did not have significantly more problems than did the average achievers, except for the students at the below average level of intelligence where underachievers expressed more problems than did average achievers. Results of the study showed no significant difference in the number of problems of overachievers and underachievers for either level of intelligence. As for overachievers and average achievers, there was no significant difference in the number of problems of both groups, except for the students at the above average level of intelligence where the overachievers expressed more problems. -- Related findings in the study revealed that students had more problems concerning 'School' than they did for any other area of adjustment. The results also suggested that there was no significant difference in the number of problems of either grade, sex, or level of intelligence. -- For the field of guidance and counseling, the results of the investigation suggested that, in general, the number of personal problems of students is not significantly related to academic achievement or underachievement. In working with underachievers, greater success might be made if some other factors were related to the problem