This article presents a study of the state of learned helplessness as a symptom of emotional, motivational, and behavioral disorders in schoolchildren and students. The state of learned helplessness is observed for the first-time during school education and characterizes mental retardation, expressed through emotional response to difficulties, fear and fear of difficulties, loss or decrease in self-esteem, decreased concentration and willful diligence, predominance of motivation to avoid failures. Currently, Russian science is intensively investigating the mechanisms of manifestation of learned helplessness of schoolchildren and students, and clarifying its impact on cognitive, behavioral, and motivational stages of development. Domestic psychological science has a need to study the phenomenon of learned helplessness and its interdependence with the personal characteristics of schoolchildren and students. The theoretical analysis of the aspects of the phenomenon of learned helplessness carried out by the authors reveals the main causes and mechanisms of its formation, the negative impact on a person's personality, determining his motivational and behavioral disorders. The authors of this study revealed that the learned helplessness syndrome as a predictor of mental retardation at school age is not given enough attention, so there are problems and contradictions in understanding mental disorders, neglect of timely intervention and psychocorrection, which eventually leads to serious emotional and behavioral disorders. The author's experimental study made it possible to conduct an experimental study of the phenomenon of learned helplessness among schoolchildren in normal and delayed mental development, and among students, in order to identify the neglected syndrome of learned helplessness as a predictor of mental disorders. During the experimental study, the personality traits of schoolchildren and students that increase the risks of the formation of learned helplessness were revealed. The results of the study indicate that learned helplessness is a complex and complex mental state characterized by personal changes in the sphere of motivation, psycho—emotional stability and cognitive sphere of personality. As measures of psychological prevention, the authors suggest that teachers and psychologists develop personal growth programs to increase motivational, cognitive, and emotional aspects for schoolchildren and students who have the greatest risks of developing a learned helplessness syndrome. The obtained results will serve as a basis for the development of psychocorrective measures in working with schoolchildren with mental health delay and psychocorrective work with students with learned helplessness syndrome.