ABSTRACT
For many students, the motivation to protect self-worth can exceed the motivation to learn and achieve. According to self-worth theory (Covington, 2000, 2004, 2009), fear of failure and the implications this failure may have for one’s ability and subsequent self-worth underpin students’ motivation to protect their self-worth. When students see failure as reflecting poorly on their ability, they are inclined to self-protect because they see their ability as inextricably tied to their self-worth (Covington, 2000, 2004, 2009). Students can use a variety of strategies to deal with threats to their self-worth. These strategies are as wide-ranging as perfectionism through to self-handicapping and disengagement (Martin & Marsh, 2003). Thus, the motive to protect self-worth has significant implications for the ways students go about their academic life. There are some groups of students who experience disproportionate rates of academic failure. Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are one such group (Barkley, 2014a, 2014b). Accordingly, in this chapter, key factors and processes under self-worth theory are explored, with particular focus on their implications for students with ADHD. The chapter also links to related theories that have informed the development of self-worth theory (e.g., need achievement theory, as per Atkinson, 1964; McClelland, 1965; attribution theory, as per Weiner, 2010). In order to situate ADHD in the broader terrain of disability, especially as relevant to self-worth theory, where appropriate the chapter also considers other dimensions of at-risk status or disability that are comorbid with ADHD. Following this, implications for psycho-educational practice for students with ADHD are described, particularly as relevant to what is recommended under self-worth theory. Directions for future research and practice are then explored, including with respect to students who do not have ADHD but who do have other clinical conditions and disorders that present significant academic barriers. Taken together, this review considers self-worth theory and the diverse ways that it contributes to knowledge, research, and practice that can better assist the academic experience of students with ADHD.
