The Relation Between Math Anxiety and Math Achievement: The Moderating Role of Parental Academic Help

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Abstract

High math anxiety is shown to be associated with low math achievement consistently across developmental stages. The present study aimed to investigate whether a supportive learning environment at home (i.e., a parent who provides strong academic support) may weaken the robust negative association between math anxiety and math achievement in early educational stages. Included in the analysis were 60 elementary and middle school students from an ongoing longitudinal study. Multiple regression analysis found that the negative association between math anxiety and math achievement was moderated by parental academic help. Higher math anxiety predicted lower math achievement only in students who received low to moderate parental academic help, but not in those who received high levels of parental academic help.

Authors

• Leslie Monique Hasty, Texas Tech University

• Tianyu Li, Texas Tech University

• Michael Galvan, Texas Tech University

• Zhe Wang, Texas Tech University