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What Studies Found About Learning Difficulties and Mental Health

By · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed

This page sums up the mental health research we hold. It covers the link between learning difficulties and feelings. It covers ADHD with worry and low mood, and how to read these studies. Most findings name their study. Then it says what the research we hold does not show. Then it lists questions we plan to answer on later pages.

TL;DR

  1. This page sums up the research we hold on learning difficulties and mental health, area by area. Most findings name their study.
  2. The studies we hold link learning difficulties with frustration, lower self-esteem and higher anxiety. That is an association, not a cause. Some studies point to support from parents and teachers as something that may help protect against these risks.
  3. One study followed first and second graders over a school year (Ramirez and colleagues, 2019). Reading worry and reading skill each predicted the other. No study we hold shows that one causes the other. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.
  4. In the research we hold, learning and attention difficulties come together more often than chance. Coming together is not the same as one causing the other.
  5. Sadness or worry that lasts is a reason to ask for help. Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.

What the mental health research we hold covers

This page opens one of the ten areas in our research section. It reports what the studies we hold found, as strongly as they found it.

This page covers learning difficulties and feelings, and worry and school skills over time. It also covers a US health agency's account of anxiety, and ADHD with worry and low mood. Last, it covers support programs that were studied, and how to read these studies.

This page reports research. It cannot tell you whether your child has an anxiety disorder or depression.

Read what a study does not show before you read what it found.

Learning difficulties and feelings

This part covers studies of feelings in children with learning difficulties.

The studies we hold link learning difficulties with frustration, lower self-esteem and higher anxiety. That is an association, not a cause. Some studies point to support from parents and teachers as something that may help protect against these risks.

One review mapped the research on mental health in dyslexia (Wilmot and colleagues, 2023). In the studies it covered, children with dyslexia were at higher risk of anxiety, depression and behavior difficulties. Many of those studies point to support from parents who understand dyslexia. The review names friendship and feeling part of school as possible protections. Few of the studies tested what changes that risk. We could read only its summary.

Worry and school skills over time

This part covers studies that followed worry and school skills over time.

One study followed first and second graders over a school year (Ramirez and colleagues, 2019). Reading worry and reading skill each predicted the other. No study we hold shows that one causes the other.

Another study followed about 660 Finnish children from grade 1 to grade 2 (Salins and colleagues, 2026). Reading fluency in grade 1 predicted less reading worry in grade 2. More reading worry went with less fluent reading, and with reading less often. Finnish is spelled more regularly than English. We could read only its summary.

In one study of 634 first and second graders, math skill and math anxiety each predicted the other. That was over six months (Gunderson and colleagues, 2018). In another study, teaching fourth graders math strategies also lowered their math anxiety (Passolunghi and colleagues, 2020). We could read only their summaries. Neither shows that math anxiety goes away once the math improves.

For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

How a US health agency describes anxiety

This part covers how one US health agency describes anxiety in children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a US government health agency. The CDC describes when a child may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. One case is so many fears and worries that they "interfere with school, home, or play activities." It points to your child's doctor or a mental-health specialist for an evaluation. We cannot tell you whether your child has an anxiety disorder.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.

ADHD, worry and low mood

This part covers studies of ADHD with anxiety or depression.

In the research we hold, learning and attention difficulties come together more often than chance. Coming together is not the same as one causing the other.

Two reviews describe ADHD and anxiety as often found together (Schatz and Rostain, 2006; D'Agati and colleagues, 2019). The studies they covered defined anxiety in different ways. We could read only their summaries. Another review pooled 29 studies of children and teens (Meinzer and colleagues, 2014). ADHD and depression went together. The link varied a lot from study to study. It was small or unclear in studies that followed children over time. We could read only its summary. These reviews look at children who have both. They do not show one being mistaken for the other.

As of 2026, the CDC says other problems can look like ADHD. The CDC's examples are sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and some learning disabilities. That is a reason to check other things too. The CDC does not say these are often mistaken for ADHD. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

Support programs that were studied

This part covers studies of programs meant to help with feelings.

A few small studies report that support programs raised children's self-esteem. A review looked at six studies of support programs for students with dyslexia (Abu Omar and colleagues, 2024). Results were mixed. Some programs raised self-esteem or wellbeing, one only for a while. The authors say the review did not rate the quality of the studies.

One review is by von der Embse and colleagues (2013). It looked at ways to help school students with test anxiety. It found few studies from 2000 to 2010. Some approaches showed "promising results," the review said. Its authors said school psychologists can help students with test anxiety.

For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

How to read these studies

This part covers how to read a study that links two things.

A study that measures two things at one time can show that they go together. It cannot show which came first.

A study that follows children over time can show whether one predicts the other later. It still cannot show that one caused the other.

A count of children who have both is not a count of mistakes. It does not show how often worry was mistaken for something else.

These are findings about groups of children. They are not a checklist for one child.

What the mental health research we hold does not show

This part covers the limits of the studies on this page.

No study of any Learning Success program exists.

No study we hold shows that a learning difficulty causes anxiety or depression.

We hold no measurement of how often worry or low mood is mistaken for ADHD.

No sign we hold has been shown to tell worry from a learning difficulty.

We hold no controlled study in which reading teaching lowered reading worry.

Our rule is that no page says how your child will change by a given week or month.

Does Learning Success build on this?

No. We do not build our programs on the studies on this page. Our programs build skills, and we do not diagnose.

For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

In no case do we claim a study's result for our program.

No study of any Learning Success program exists.

Questions we plan to answer on later pages

Later pages in this area are planned. None of them is written yet.

The studies

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Think of one thing you have read about learning difficulties and anxiety. Ask whether the study measured both at one time, or followed children over time. Neither kind shows that one caused the other.

”What to do tonight

Common questions from parents

What does it mean that learning difficulties are linked with anxiety?

The studies we hold link learning difficulties with frustration, lower self-esteem and higher anxiety. That is an association, not a cause. Some studies point to support from parents and teachers as something that may help protect against these risks. A study that measures two things at one time can show that they go together. It cannot show which came first. No study we hold shows that a learning difficulty causes anxiety or depression. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

What do the studies we hold say about ADHD, anxiety and depression?

Two reviews describe ADHD and anxiety as often found together (Schatz and Rostain, 2006; D'Agati and colleagues, 2019). The studies they covered defined anxiety in different ways. We could read only their summaries. Another review pooled 29 studies of children and teens (Meinzer and colleagues, 2014). ADHD and depression went together. The link varied a lot from study to study. It was small or unclear in studies that followed children over time. We could read only its summary. These reviews look at children who have both. They do not show one being mistaken for the other. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

Have support programs been shown to help children's feelings?

A few small studies report that support programs raised children's self-esteem. A review looked at six studies of support programs for students with dyslexia (Abu Omar and colleagues, 2024). Results were mixed. Some programs raised self-esteem or wellbeing, one only for a while. The authors say the review did not rate the quality of the studies. We hold no controlled study in which reading teaching lowered reading worry. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

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