Anxiety about Mathematics and Reading in Preadolescents Is Domain-Specific

It was investigated whether test anxiety (TA), mathematics anxiety (MA), and reading anxiety (RA) can be traced back to some type of general academic anxiety or whether these are separable. A total of 776 fifth graders ( = 10.9 years) completed questionnaires on TA, MA, and RA, as well as a mathemat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of intelligence 2024-01, Vol.12 (2), p.14
Main Authors: Sasanguie, Delphine, Larmuseau, Charlotte, Depaepe, Fien, Jansen, Brenda R J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Analysis
Anxiety
Elementary school students
Fear & phobias
Literacy
math anxiety
math performance
Mathematics
Physiology
Reading
reading anxiety
Social anxiety
test anxiety
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Summary:It was investigated whether test anxiety (TA), mathematics anxiety (MA), and reading anxiety (RA) can be traced back to some type of general academic anxiety or whether these are separable. A total of 776 fifth graders ( = 10.9 years) completed questionnaires on TA, MA, and RA, as well as a mathematics test. Also, mathematics and reading performance results from the National Tracking System were requested. The sample was randomly split into two halves. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that a three-factor model (factors: TA, MA, RA) had superior model fit compared with a one-factor model (factor: "Academic anxiety"), in both halves. The resulting anxiety factors were related to math performance measures using structural equation models. A scarcity of data on reading performance prevented the analysis of links between anxiety and reading performance. Anxiety-math performance relations were stronger for MA than for TA and MA. We concluded that TA, MA, and RA are separable constructs.
ISSN:2079-3200
2079-3200
DOI:10.3390/jintelligence12020014