The longitudinal relationship between internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems with academic achievement in elementary school

Cascade models propose that behavioral difficulties and academic achievement are reciprocally intertwined. However, empirical evidence for this assumption is inconclusive. The present study examines the relations between internalizing and externalizing behavioral difficulties and academic achievement in three achievement domains (i.e., reading, writing, mathematics) across four school years in primary school. A sample of N = 461 primary school students was used to examine our research questions. Five waves of measurement were gathered to capture students' educational development throughout elementary school. A series of cross-lagged panel analyses was conducted controlling for potential confounders (i.e., attention, cognitive ability, gender). Contrary to our hypotheses, results point only to sporadic reciprocal effects between behavioral problems and achievement. Effects vary greatly both between achievement domain and between behavioral difficulties. On all longitudinal variable associations, there were consistently moderate to high stabilities across four years of primary education. Moderate to high stabilities of the variables under examination suggests that interventions beginning after school entrance might be too late to avoid adverse developmental trajectories adequately. Additionally, prevention and intervention programs are discussed which might avoid such educational developments.