Basic Symbolic Number Skills, but Not Formal Mathematics Performance, Longitudinally Predict Mathematics Anxiety in the First Years of Primary School.

ABSTRACT: Mathematical anxiety (MA) and mathematics performance typically correlate negatively in studies of adolescents and adults, but not always amongst young children, with some theorists questioning the relevance of MA to mathematics performance in this age group. Evidence is also limited in relation to the developmental origins of MA and whether MA in young children can be linked to their earlier mathematics performance. To address these questions, the current study investigated whether basic and formal mathematics skills around 4 and 5 years of age were predictive of MA around the age of 7-8. Additionally, we also examined the cross-sectional relationships between MA and mathematics performance in 7-8-year-old children. Specifically, children in our study were assessed in their first (T1; age

SUBMITTER: O'Connor PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10672261 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature