More Evidence that Math Anxiety is Specific to Math in Young Children: The Correlates of the Math Anxiety Questionnaire for Children (MAQC)

Abstract

Although interest in math anxiety in young children has recently increased, the results of previous studies on math anxiety correlates are inconsistent. The article presents the results of two studies conducted among early school-age learners (6-11 years) where the Math Anxiety Questionnaire for Children (MAQC) was used. The results indicate that the MAQC score (a) positively and moderately/strongly correlates with math anxiety scores obtained with other scales, (b) positively and mainly moderately correlates with general and test anxiety, (c) and negatively and weakly/moderately correlates with math achievement. Negative, weak, and significant relationships between math anxiety and math achievement occur even if general and test anxiety are controlled. Moreover, the results of the group comparison test show that children with a high level of math self-esteem have lower math anxiety than children with medium math self-esteem and this effect is large. Children with medium and high Polish language self-esteem do not differ from each other in math anxiety. It may be concluded that math anxiety in young children is a specific kind of anxiety, and its correlates are similar to those in secondary school-age children, adolescents, and adults.

School Leadership’s Role in the Disruption of Math Anxiety

“…In a study conducted in the United States by Ramirez et al (2013), they discovered that math anxiety negatively affected students' math achievement as young as grades one and two. Two other studies, one by Mutlu (2019) and another by Szczygieł (2020), also revealed that student achievement and self-esteem in math reduced in those individuals who experienced math anxiety.…”

“…Several studies indicated that student math anxiety had a negative impact on math achievement (Donolato et al, 2020;Gunderson et al, 2017;Justicia-Galiano et al, 2017;Ramirez et al, 2013;Passolunghi et al, 2020;Szczygieł, 2020). In a large meta-analysis of 131 empirical studies, Namkung et al (2019) discovered that math anxiety and math performance were negatively related in primary and secondary school students.…”

Ansiedade matemática: Uma visão global acerca da sua origem, impacto e possíveis intervenções

“…A ansiedade matemática sentida pelos alunos está relacionada com o receio destes cometerem erros, terem más notas, receberem feedback negativo por parte dos professores, especialmente quando este ocorre em frente aos seus pares (Lu et al, 2021;Szczygieł, 2020a).…”

“…Relativamente à idade do surgimento da ansiedade matemática para cada género, não existe um consenso na literatura, sendo que as evidências são bastante variadas (Ramirez et al, 2018). Enquanto existem estudos que não encontraram diferenças de género ao nível do primeiro ciclo do ensino básico (Levy et al, 2021), existem também estudos onde estas estão presentes neste nível educativo (Szczygieł, 2020a). Vários estudos apontam para a existência ou para o exacerbamento destas diferenças a partir do ensino secundário (Levy et al, 2021;Milovanović, 2020;Xie et al, 2019).…”

Assessing Anxiety and Attitudes Towards Arithmetic and Algebra

“…In recent years, there has been a decline in the number of students graduating from the STEM eld of education and one of the possible reasons for that is the rising anxiety levels (Wei & Maat, 2020). Poor math skills lead to lower con dence levels, leading to higher anxiety levels, subsequently resulting in avoidance and underperformance in the STEM domains (Daker et al, 2021).Math anxiety is a predictor of math skills in school children and adults (Szczygieł, 2020). Anxiety affects the well-being of an individual (Devine & Dowker, 2011).…”