Role of executive functions in the relations of state‐and trait‐math anxiety with math performance

The detrimental effect of math anxiety on math performance is thought to be mediated by executive functions. Previous studies have primarily focused on trait-math anxiety rather than state-math anxiety and have typically examined a single executive function rather than comprehensively evaluating all of them. Here, we used a structural equation modeling approach to concurrently determine the potential mediating roles of different executive functions (i.e., inhibition, switching, and updating) in the relationships between both state- and trait-math anxiety and math performance. A battery of computer-based tasks and questionnaires were administered to 205 university students. Two relevant results emerged. First, confirmatory factor analysis suggests that math anxiety encompassed both trait and state dimensions and, although they share substantial variance, trait-math anxiety predicted math performance over and above state-math anxiety. Second, working memory updating was the only executive function that mediated the relationship between math anxiety and math performance; neither inhibition nor switching played mediating roles. This calls into question whether some general proposals about the relationship between anxiety and executive functions can be extended specifically to math anxiety. We also raise the possibility that working memory updating or general cognitive difficulties might precede individual differences in math anxiety.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), Grant/Award Number: PID2020-120065GB-I00; European Union NextGenerationEU/PRT

Math anxiety and its relationship to inhibitory abilities and perceived emotional intelligence

Título: Ansiedad matemática y su relación con capacidades inhibitorias e inteligencia emocional percibida. Resumen: La ansiedad a las matemáticas es un problema emocional que repercute negativamente en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes en distintos niveles educativos. El presente estudio analiza la relación entre este tipo de ansiedad y ciertos procesos cognitivos y emocionales. En primer lugar se pretendía determinar la relación entre la ansiedad a las matemáticas y ciertas habilidades inhibitorias dirigidas a eliminar o evitar el acceso a la conciencia de pensamientos intrusivos. En segundo lugar, interesaba comprobar la posible relación de la ansiedad a las matemáticas con la propia percepción del estudiante de sus habilidades emocionales. A tal fin se administraron a 187 estudiantes de primer curso del Grado de Psicología diferentes medidas de ansiedad a las matemáticas, a la estadística, de habilidades inhibitorias y de inteligencia emocional percibida. Los resultados mostraron que los estudiantes con puntuaciones más altas en ansiedad a las matemáti-cas presentaban una mayor susceptibilidad a experimentar pensamientos intrusivos, una menor eficacia a la hora de suprimirlos así como puntuaciones inferiores en comprensión y regulación de sus emociones. Los procesos inhibitorios y emocionales estudiados pueden resultar útiles para entender la naturaleza de la ansiedad matemática. Palabras clave: Ansiedad matemática; inhibición; pensamientos intrusivos; inteligencia emocional percibida. Abstract: Math anxiety has been found to be an emotional problem that has a negative effect on students' academic performance across different levels of education. This type of anxiety could be related to certain cognitive and emotional processes. A first objective was to examine the relationship between math anxiety and certain inhibitory abilities responsible of eliminating intrusive thoughts or preventing them access to consciousness. A second aim was to determine the extent in which math anxiety and students' self-perceptions of their own emotional abilities are related. To this end, 187 first-year undergraduate psychology students were administered different measures to assess math anxiety, statistics anxiety, inhibitory abilities, and perceived emotional intelligence. The results showed that students with high math anxiety were more likely to experience intrusive thoughts, were less effective at suppressing these thoughts, and reported lower scores in understanding and regulating their emotions. These cognitive mechanisms and emotional abilities are of relevance to better understand the nature of this type of anxiety

Anxiety profiles and protective factors: A latent profile analysis in children

The current study investigated the presence of different anxiety profiles in schoolchildren in order to understand whether Mathematics and Test Anxiety are a manifestation of a general form of anxiety, or the expression of specific forms of anxiety. Moreover, we also examined the influence of personal protective factors. The results of a latent profile analysis, conducted on 664 children attending grades 3 to 6, clearly identified three different profiles distinguished on the basis of the level of general, test and mathematics anxiety. Protective factors, such as self-concept and resilience, were differently related to anxiety: the former was clearly lower when the risk profile was higher, whereas students were able to maintain a certain level of resilience up to an average risk of developing forms of anxiety. The implications of these findings may lead to the development of specific intervention programs aimed at reducing students’ anxiety and fostering self-concept and resilience. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

False Beliefs about Mathematics in Spanish Pre-Service Teachers and Relations with Math Anxiety

Teachers may hold beliefs about how students learn mathematics and about the subject itself. However, some of these beliefs, often referred to as “math myths”, may be oversimplified ideas that appear valid but lack solid scientific evidence. This study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of math myths among Spanish pre-service teachers and compare it with the degree of support for these myths reported in previous studies; investigate the possible underlying structure of a set of false beliefs about math; and determine the relationships of certain math misconceptions with math anxiety. A total of 212 Spanish pre-service teachers were administered questionnaires about math myths and about general and math anxiety. The results showed prevalence patterns of each math misconception similar to those in previous studies. False beliefs about math showed weak or negligible correlations with each other and did not exhibit a discernible underlying structure. Furthermore, math anxiety was related to the belief that some individuals are perceived to possess a “math mind” while others do not. Our results suggest diverse origins for the development of different math myths, rather than the myths being the consequence of a single underlying factor. Finally, the endorsement of certain beliefs about who can do mathematics may contribute to negative emotions towards mathematics

Math Anxiety and Working Memory Updating: Difficulties in Retrieving Numerical Information From Working Memory

This study aimed to determine whether math anxiety was related to working memory (WM) updating performance and, specifically, to the retrieval and substitution components of updating. A set of WM updating (WMU) tasks that involve different retrieval and substitution requirements were administered to 114 university students. In addition, participants completed a math anxiety assessment on two occasions: 1–2 weeks before and immediately prior to task administration to increase the likelihood of observing the relationship between math anxiety and updating performance. The results showed a relationship between math anxiety scores and updating performance. Math anxious individuals took longer and made more errors, especially on tasks that required retrieving information from WM. These results suggest that math anxious individuals are less efficient when it comes to accessing numerical information in WM. Consequently, they may struggle with math-related tasks that involve retrieving numerical information from WM.This study was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (PSI2016-80416-P)

Gender stereotypes about math anxiety: Ability and emotional components

Gender stereotypes are believed to play a role in the heightened math anxiety (MA) reported by female students. We investigated, first, whether adolescents hold the stereotyped beliefs that girls experience more MA than boys (emotional facet), and that boys perform better in math (ability facet); second, whether gender differences in MA are due to self-report bias; and, third, whether gender differences in MA are related to gender-stereotyped beliefs, in terms of both ability and emotional facets. A total of 257 secondary school students completed math-related and gender stereotype measures. The results revealed that female students were perceived as being more prone to MA than male students, but no self-report bias was observed. Regarding the math ability facet, students endorsed either egalitarian or female-favoring views. Finally, gender differences in MA, as well as other math-related performance measures, were related to gender stereotypes about math ability, but not about emotion.This work was supported by Grant PID2020-120065GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “European Union Next- GenerationEU/PRTR”

Psicothema

Resumen tomado de la publicaciónLa exposición de los hijos a los conflictos de los padres constituye un factor de riesgo importante para el desarrollo de problemas de conducta en los hijos. Este estudio examina la relación entre los conflictos matrimoniales y el comportamiento agresivo y delictivo de los hijos. La muestra estuvo compuesta por un total de 332 hijos de entre 7 y 17 años y sus madres. Los hijos cumplimentaron la Children's Perceptions of Interparental Conflict Scale, informando sobre las dimensiones de los conflictos matrimoniales: frecuencia, intensidad, no resolución y contenido. Las madres informaron sobre la frecuencia de los conflictos a través de la O'Leary Porter Scale, así como de los problemas de conducta agresiva y delictiva de los hijos respondiendo a la Child Behavior Checklist. Los resultados indican que los conflictos entre los padres afectan por igual a hijos e hijas. Afectan más a los adolescentes que a los más pequeños cuando los perciben los hijos. Sin embargo, afectan a todos los grupos cuando es la madre la que los percibe.AsturiasColegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Asturias; Calle Ildefonso Sánchez del Río, 4-1 B; 33001 Oviedo; Tel. +34985285778; Fax +34985281374;Universidad de Oviedo. Facultad de Psicología; Plaza Feijoo, s. n.; 33003 Oviedo; Tel. +34985104146; Fax +34985104126;ES

Psychometric properties, factor structure and gender and educational level invariance of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) in Spanish children and adolescents

The present study aimed to investigate the factor structure and degree of measurement invariance of a Spanish adaptation of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) in primary and secondary school students (N = 1,504 students, 46.08% males, 7-19 years of age). The results of confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the original two-factor structure, although a modified two-factor model with one item loading simultaneously on both factors was better supported. Full measurement invariance was observed across gender, and partial measurement invariance was achieved across educational levels (primary and secondary education). The AMAS showed reasonable internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and convergent validity. These results highlight the utility of the AMAS as a measure of math anxiety in primary and secondary school students whose scores can be compared by gender and educational level.This study was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (PSI2016-80416-P funded by FEDER)

Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Academic Procrastination Scale-Short Form (APS-S) in Spanish children and adolescents

The objectives were to examine the factorial structure of the Academic Procrastination Scale-Short Form (APS-S) and the measurement invariance across gender and educational levels, to determine possible differences in procrastination across gender, educational levels, and grades. The sample was formed of 1486 Spanish primary and secondary school students between the ages of 7 and 19 years. A one-factor model provided an adequate fit. Scalar and partial scalar invariance were achieved through gender and educational levels, respectively. Internal consistency was good and slightly higher for secondary school students than primary school students. Moderate convergent validity was obtained. The APS-S scores showed a weak but significant correlation with math anxiety. Procrastination scores increased with grade, and males showed significantly higher procrastination scores than females. The Spanish APS-S demonstrated adequate reliability and validity scores and could be a useful tool for examining academic procrastination in children and adolescents.This work was supported by the MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 under Grant PID2020-120065GB-I00