A large-scale study on the prevalence of math anxiety in Qatar.

Autor: Megreya AM; Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Education, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar., Al-Emadi AA; Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Education, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar., Al-Ahmadi AM; Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Education, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar., Moustafa AA; School of Psychology, Faculty of Society and Design & Centre for Data Analytics, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia., Szűcs D; Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The British journal of educational psychology [Br J Educ Psychol] 2024 Jun; Vol. 94 (2), pp. 539-556. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 02.
DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12662
Abstrakt: Background: Math anxiety (MA) is a worldwide appearing academic anxiety that can affect student mental health and deter students from math and science-related career choices.
Method: Using the Arabic version of the Modified-Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (m-AMAS), the prevalence of MA was investigated in a very large sample of students (N = 10093) from grades 7 to 12 in Qatar.
Results: The results showed a better fit to the original two-factor model of the m-AMAS (learning MA and Evaluation MA) than to a single-factor solution. This two-factor model was also confirmed in each grade. Notably, the distribution of MA scores was right-skewed, especially for learning MA. Using the inter-quartiles ranges, norms for MA were provided: A score of ≤16 indicates low MA whereas a score of ≥30 identifies high MA. Previous studies conducted in Western countries defined high math-anxious students as those who score above the 90th percentile corresponding to a score of 30 on the m-AMAS. Using this cut-off criterion, the current study found that one-fifth of students in Qatar were highly math-anxious, with a higher proportion of females than males. We also calculated the percentage of participants selecting each response category for each questionnaire item. Results showed that attending a long math class was the context that elicited the highest levels of learning MA. In contrast, having an unexpected math test was the situation that triggered the highest levels of evaluation MA.
Conclusion: The prevalence of MA might vary across different cultures.
(© 2024 British Psychological Society.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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