Characteristics of Mathematics-Associated Anxiety among Rural Schoolchildren in Early Adolescence
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction. This article addresses the issue of poor grasp of mathematical concepts among fifth-form pupils in rural schools. The aim was to investigate the relationship between fifth-formers’ mathematics-associated anxiety and their academic performance in mathematics, as well as their psychological characteristics. Materials and methods. The survey was conducted in rural schools of the Chechen Republic (Russian Federation) and involved 465 fifth-year pupils. The methodological tools included: the methodology “Diagnostics of learning motivation and emotional attitude towards learning in middle and senior school years” by A.D. Andreeva, as modified by A.M. Prikhozhan; “Questionnaire for assessing pupils’ cognitive activity” by B.K. Pashnev; B. Phillips’ “School Anxiety Test”; and the author’s questionnaire for identifying the components and factors of mathematics-associated anxiety. Results. The study confirmed the existence of the problem of poor academic performance in mathematics among pupils of rural schools, as well as the fact that this was attributable to mathematics-associated anxiety. The components of mathematics-associated anxiety were identified, defined as an emotional state having a negative impact on pupils’ success in learning mathematics: a negative attitude towards mathematics as an academic subject (20.3%); a negative attitude towards mathematical information and the process of solving numerical problems (17.7%); a negative attitude towards assessment of mathematical knowledge (18.3%); a negative attitude towards doing maths homework (15.8%); a negative assessment of interaction with the mathematics teacher (17.3%); social stereotypes and attitudes towards learning mathematics (17.3%). KEYWORDS Based on factor analysis, it was shown that mathematics-associated anxiety can act both as a structural component of overall school anxiety (proportion of variance 23.164%) and as an independent phenomenon (proportion of variance 16.676%) influencing the learners’ educational outcomes in mathematics. The following factors of mathematics associated anxiety were identified: learning motivation (-0.802), cognitive activity (-0.628), motivation for achievement (-0.565), overall school anxiety (0.609), problems in relations with the teacher (0.668), fear of self-expression (0.503), fear of assessment situations (0.706), negative attitude towards mathematical information (0.721), introversion (0.407), social stereotypes regarding mathematical education (-0.539), etc. Conclusion. This study examines the relationship between academic performance in mathematics and mathematics associated anxiety among early adolescent schoolchildren in rural areas; an analysis of the components and factors of pupils’ mathematics-associated anxiety was conducted. The research findings, based on the differentiation of pupils according to the nature of their mathematics-associated anxiety and their psychological characteristics, are supposed to effectively address the problem of low academic performance through psychological and pedagogical intervention.
Author: Marina V. Vereshchagina
Institution: Chechen State Pedagogical Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7160628343