Learning difficulties, academic well-being and educational dropout: A person-centred approach

•Four distinct academic performance and well-being groups were identified.•A group of students with average performance and low academic well-being was found.•A strong relationship between mathematics and reading difficulties was found.•School dropout was associated with low performance and low academic well-being.

The aim of this study was to examine lower secondary students' (N = 1152) academic performance (reading and mathematics) and well-being (academic self-concept, perceived learning difficulties and school burnout) profiles, as well as the relations among these profiles and educational dropout. Latent profile analysis was used to identify four groups of students with distinct academic performance and well-being profiles. Students from two groups, namely the low-performance and negative academic well-being groups, were more prone to school dropout, whereas students from the high-performance and average-performance groups were less likely to abandon secondary education. Implications for research on learning difficulties are discussed, as the results demonstrate strong relations between mathematics, reading and spelling in this age group.