Working memory, negative affect and personal assets: How do they relate to mathematics and reading literacy?

INTRODUCTION: Research has recently focused on the relationships between working memory, negative affect (e.g., general anxiety, depressive symptoms) and personal assets (e.g., self-concept, academic and competence dimensions, and ego-resiliency), and their influence on mathematics and reading literacy. Although these variables have been amply explored, previous research has usually considered each of these aspects in isolation. METHOD: In the present study, 143 schoolchildren in sixth to eighth grade were tested on general anxiety, depressive symptoms, working memory, self-concept (academic and competence scales), ego-resiliency, and mathematics and reading literacy. RESULTS: Variance partitioning showed that all predictors, i.e., working memory, negative affect (i.e., general anxiety and depressive symptoms), and personal assets (i.e., self-concept, academic and competence dimensions, and ego-resiliency) explained a unique and shared portion of the variance in mathematics and reading literacy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings point to the importance of investigating the relationship between these factors. Underlying implications and directions for future research are discussed.