The thesis of the present study was that failure in achievement tasks may constitute a stress factor that can trigger a depression episode, particularly for students with learning disabilities (LD), and that a particular motivational pattern may constitute a cognitive diathesis for depression. Participants were 104 students referred for LD who were drawn from a pool of approximately 900 students from Grades 5 and 6. Students were challenged with a series of difficult math exercises, and their achievement behaviors were examined as a function of achievement goal orientations. Results from structural equation modeling provided empirical support of the contention that performance—avoidance goals may account for a series of negative cognitions and affect. Direct positive paths linked performance— avoidance goals to anxiety, depression, and negative affect; negative paths were revealed with regard to self-esteem and positive affect. Thus, performance—avoidance goals may possess elements of the diathesis mechanism described by Dykman (1998), constituting a vulnerability factor that triggers the mechanism of depression when negative events are in place.
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