Consequences of self-handicapping: effects on coping, academic performance, and adjustment.
Self-handicappers erect impediments to performance to protect their self-esteem. The impediments may interfere with the ability to do well and, as such, may result in poor adjustment. Using a longitudinal design, the present studies examined prospective effects of self-handicapping on coping, academic performance, and several adjustment-related variables (e.g., self-esteem). It was found that, compared to low self-handicappers, high self-handicappers reported higher usage of coping strategies implying withdrawal and negative focus. High self-handicappers performed less well academically, an effect that was mediated in part by poor study habits. Finally, high self-handicapping resulted in poorer adjustment over time, and poorer adjustment resulted in higher self-handicapping over time. These relations are consistent with the idea of a vicious cycle in which self-handicapping and poor adjustment reinforce one another.
Zuckerman
M
M
Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
Kieffer
S C
SC
Knee
C R
CR
D000124:Achievement; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012649:Self Concept; D012917:Social Adjustment