Math anxiety's direct effect on math performance emerges in grade 4 but not grade 3, suggesting a developmental trajectory¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-17 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Self-rated math anxiety (AMAS) did not significantly predict concurrent grade-3 math performance but directly and significantly predicted grade-4 math performance (β = −0.28, P < 0.001). → Pellizzoni 2021

Evidence¶

Pellizzoni 2021¶

Pellizzoni, S., Cargnelutti, E., Cuder, A., & Passolunghi, M.C. (2021). The interplay between math anxiety and working memory on math performance: a longitudinal study. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14722

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Longitudinal path analysis (Model 1a) in 146 children tested at start of grades 3 and 4; Table 3 reports AMAS direct effect on MAT‐4 of −0.28*** and total effect −0.30**. The authors attribute the grade-3 null to a developmental stage where "the boundaries between general and specific anxiety are still vague".

"the effect of MA on concurrent math performance in grade 3 did not reach the threshold we set for statistical significance, but MA affected directly and significantly subsequent math performance in early grade 4."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Academic Anxiety — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Affect Regulation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Age and Developmental Stage — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• Teacher-rated general anxiety negatively predicts concurrent and future math performance in third and fourth graders — related
• Children's arithmetic skills are the strongest predictor of their explicitly measured math anxiety, with higher skills associated with lower anxiety — related
• Math anxiety has both a direct negative effect and a WM-mediated indirect effect on children's verbal Math Reasoning, but only an indirect effect on Numerical Operations — related
• Children's self-rated general anxiety was not directly related to math achievement at either assessment time — related
• Math anxiety in Grade 2 shows an indirect effect on subsequent math performance in Grade 3 — related
• The association between math anxiety and math performance is significant in Grade 3 after accounting for general anxiety — reports the opposite
• The prevalent direction of the Grade 3 anxiety-performance link runs from math anxiety to performance, not the reverse — reports the opposite
• Math anxiety arises and relates to math performance already in early primary school (Grades 2-3) — reports the opposite