Math attitudes and math anxiety predict students' perception of teacher support in primary school, but not vice versa

Bibliographic Data

ID5264992
AuthorsRuifan Luo (0000-0002-6242-1762, School of Psychology Shandong Normal University Jinan China), Aoxue Zhang (0009-0006-0126-2813, School of Mental Health Jining Medical University Jining China), Yangyang Wang (0000-0001-5213-6506, School of Psychology Shandong Normal University Jinan China), Hongxia Li (0000-0002-5052-2742, School of Psychology Shandong Normal University Jinan China), Yanli Xu (0000-0001-8218-7195, School of Psychology Shandong Normal University Jinan China), Kaiyue Guo (0000-0001-9172-524X, School of Psychology Shandong Normal University Jinan China), Jiamin Si (0000-0003-0855-7164, School of Psychology Shandong Normal University Jinan China, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume94
Issue1
Pages6-21
Publication date2024-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Educational Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0998 • E-ISSN: 2044-8279
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/bjep.12628
PMID37496095
OpenAlexW4385295790
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited77

BackgroundBoth teacher support and math attitudes have been identified as associated with math anxiety in primary school children. However, little is known about how they are interrelated longitudinally.AimsThe study was designed to examine the associations among perceived teacher support, math attitudes, and math anxiety in Chinese primary school students.SampleThe sample included 1802 students (56.16% boys) initially in the third and fourth grades in two public schools in China.MethodsA three-year cross-lagged panel design was conducted to examine the associations among perceived teacher support, math attitudes, and math anxiety. Moreover, a multigroup analysis was used to examine whether the associations varied by gender.ResultsThere were reciprocal associations over time between math attitudes and math anxiety. Meanwhile, both math attitudes and math anxiety significantly predicted perceived teacher support one year later, but not vice versa. Further, the association between T1 math anxiety and T3 perceived teacher support was mediated by T2 math attitudes; the association between T1 math attitudes and T3 perceived teacher support, on the other hand, was mediated by T2 math anxiety. Moreover, there were no significant gender differences in these associations.ConclusionsMath anxiety and math attitudes objectively affected each other, and both of them significantly predicted later perceived teacher support, but not vice versa. This study demonstrates that children are not merely passive recipients of environmental influences and offers theoretical guidance for intervention practices that aim to reduce the risk of math anxiety

Anxiety · Association (psychology) · Developmental psychology · Mathematical anxiety · Perception · Reciprocal · Clinical Psychology · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation · Psychology · School Choice and Performance · Social Psychology