ABSTRACT
This study examined whether the system of relationships between individual psychological characteristics (i.e., spatial ability, scholastic ability perception, mathematics stereotype), social contextual levels of family and culture, and mathematics performance differs for young adolescent girls and boys. Subjects included 160 American (i.e., from the United States) sixth graders and 242 Serbian fifth and sixth graders. Findings indicated that in both cultures scholastic ability perception was associated with the mathematics performance of boys and girls. In addition, both among American and Serbian boys and among Serbian girls, spatial ability was linked to their mathematics performance. Interestingly, among American girls but not among Serbian girls, holding a less traditional mathematics stereotype related negatively to mathematics performance. Finally, the family appeared to be a particularly salient context for Serbian young adolescents, especially for girls. These findings underscore the notion that at different levels of the social context young adolescents’ individual-psychological characteristics can vary, leading to different academic outcomes.
