This study aimed to analyze possible relationships between the use of self-handicapping, academic self-efficacy beliefs, sociodemographic variables, and the performance of students from the 1st to the 3rd year of full-time and night-time high school at a state public school. The research was characterized as exploratory and descriptive and was carried out with 111 high school students. The instruments used were the Brazilian Self-Handicapping Strategies Scale (EEAPREJ - Boruchovitch et al., 2022), Academic Self-Efficacy Scale for High School (AAEM - Polydoro; Casanova, 2015), and participants' school reports. The analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics using the SPSS program. The results did not show significant differences between the sociodemographic variables, self-handicapping, and the general scale of self-efficacy beliefs. Only the period and repetition variables showed significant differences in the AAEM factors. The research also found a significant correlation between self-efficacy beliefs, self-handicapping and students' academic performance. It is expected that this research will contribute to discussions on self-efficacy beliefs and self-handicapping in high school students, as well as serve as a source of data for new proposals.