PEDIATRICS Vol. 40 No. 3 September 1967, pp. 373-381
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SCHOOL UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN THE ADOLESCENT

A Review of 73 Cases

S. L. Hammar M.D.1

1 The Adolescent Clinic, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Seventy-three adolescents, referred to the University of Washington Adolescent Clinic for school underachievement were evaluated for this study. Four times more adolescent boys than girls were referred for this problem. Twenty were found to be psychogenic underachievers, 40 had evidence of specific learning disorders, and 13 were mentally retarded. The problems of school achievement were not recent in onset but had, in most cases, been recognized in the early grades. The onset of puberty and rapidly approaching maturation, however, awakened the concerns of the parents and the teachers regarding the need for more diagnostic evaluation, vocational and academic planning, and guidance on managing the associated behavioral problems. The physician's role in management of school underachievement and the need for earlier recognition and therapeutic intervention is discussed.

Submitted on February 7, 1967
Accepted on April 2, 1967