Poster #103 - Parent Mathematics Anxiety: Implications for Parental Control During Homework and Child Mathematics Self-Concept and Skills

• In Event: Poster Session 15

Abstract

Mathematics anxious individuals experience worry while working on math, which can cause underperformance on mathematics activities (Beilock & Maloney, 2015). Research indicates that mathematics anxiety can be transmitted via parent-child interactions (Beilock & Maloney, 2015), such as the mathematics conversations that arise during homework (Maloney et al., 2015). There is some evidence that this transmission is due to the use of controlling behaviors (e.g., leading, telling the answer) when parents provide help on mathematics homework (Retanal et al., 2021). Children’s mathematics self-concept is a significant predictor of children’s mathematics achievement in first through third grade students (del Rio et al., 2021). The current study examined whether parent mathematics anxiety impacts children’s mathematics self-concept and skills and explores if controlling behaviors during a homework session mediate these associations. We hypothesize that high parent mathematics anxiety will be linked to increases in parental control, which will be linked to poor mathematics self-concept and mathematics skills in children.

The sample consisted of 118 second-grade children and their parents. Parents completed a mathematics anxiety measure (Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale; Hopko et al., 2003) and child completed the Self-Description Questionnaire-I (Marsh, 1990) to report on their mathematics self-concept. The Woodcock Johnson Applied Problems subtest (Schrank et al., 2014) was used to assess children’s mathematics skills. Together, parent-child dyads completed a homework help activity for 10 minutes, which was video recorded and behaviorally coded later. Parental control was measured by assessing parents’ leading behaviors, telling the answer, taking over, and checking the answer when not requested (Cheung et al., 2016). Codes were summed across 30-second epochs and averaged across the four codes (interrater % agreement ranged 84% - 96%). Covariates included child gender (1 = male), race (1 = racial/ethnic minority), family socioeconomic status (income and education), and days of school before the assessment

Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations are presented in Table 1. We utilized structural equation modeling and controlled for the covariates listed above. Parent mathematics anxiety had a direct, negative effect on children’s mathematics skills. Moreover, the association between parents’ math anxiety and children’s mathematics skills was partially mediated by parental control, such that parents’ higher math anxiety was linked to more controlling behaviors which then led to lower mathematics skills (β = -0.052, p = .075).

Findings suggest that parent mathematics anxiety may play an important role in parenting behaviors during homework help based on the parents’ attitudes about mathematics, with cascading effects on children’s mathematics skills. It is important to provide support to parents as they help children with homework, specifically on mathematics topics that induce anxiety. However, children’s math self-concept did not seem to play a role in these associations. Based on our descriptive data, most children reported having very high mathematics self-concept. This is not surprising, as children tend to have very positive self-perceptions during early elementary school that decrease as they mature. Future analyses will explore if there are longitudinal effects of parents’ mathematics anxiety for children’s mathematics self-concept and mathematics skills a year later in third grade.

Authors

• Makenzie Starlin, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  Presenting Author

• Jenna Elizabeth Finch, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Kimia Akhavein, University of Nebraska - Lincoln