Self-reported Mathematics Anxiety: Conceptual and psychometric considerations
Keywords:
math anxiety, primary and secondary school students, instruments, mathematics achievementAbstract
Mathematical skills are important not only for the academic or professional achievements but also for everyday life. Yet, a significant proportion of people struggle with anxiety and emotional distress when faced with mathematical stimuli. There is an extensive body of research on mathematics anxiety in adolescents and adults, but literature targeting mathematics anxiety in primary and early school populations is scant and inconsistent. Given these aspects, in this article, we will focus on mathematics anxiety in primary and secondary school students. Firstly, we will present a brief review of the history of the assessment instruments of mathematics anxiety. Secondly, we will outline and discuss some relevant findings of mathematics anxiety and some of its links to other constructs (i.e., working memory, test anxiety) and its impact on mathematics achievement or performance.
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