Sex differences and similarities in relations between mathematics achievement, attitudes, and anxiety: A seventh-to-ninth grade longitudinal study.

Abstract

There are consistent correlations between mathematics achievement, attitudes, and anxiety, but the longitudinal relations among these constructs are not well understood nor are sex differences in these relations. To address this gap, mathematics achievement, attitudes, and anxiety were longitudinally assessed for 342 (169 boys) adolescents from seventh to ninth grade, inclusive, and latent growth curve models (LGCM) were used to assess the relations among these traits and developmental change in them. Spatial abilities (seventh and eighth grades) and trait anxiety (eighth and ninth grades) were also assessed and used to control for sex differences in these traits. Overall, boys had stronger spatial abilities and more positive mathematics attitudes and were less anxious than girls, but there were no sex differences in mathematics achievement. Across grades, mathematics achievement improved, attitudes became less positive, and anxiety increased for both boys and girls. Higher than average cross-grade growth in mathematics achievement mitigated boys' developmental declines in mathematics attitudes and increases in anxiety. Girls with strong spatial abilities had lower mathematics anxiety, but girls overall maintained higher mathematics anxiety and less positive mathematics attitudes relative to boys, even when they showed strong cross-grade gains in mathematics achievement. The study demonstrated that longitudinal gains in mathematics are associated with cross-grade changes in attitudes and anxiety but with several different developmental patterns for boys and girls. Educational Impact and Implications StatementStudents with strong mathematical competencies are less mathematically anxious and have more positive mathematics attitudes. For boys, mathematics achievement gains across the middle school years and into high school slowed developmental declines in mathematics attitudes and increases in anxiety. Girls maintained higher levels of mathematics anxiety and less positive attitudes than boys, even when they showed strong mathematics achievement gains across grades.