Parental mathematics anxiety is related to children’s mathematical development in preschool and the first school years

Abstract

Math anxiety is a well-known predictor of mathematics skills, with its effects ranging from reducing performance in high-stakes tests to interfering with learning novel mathematics contents. Although the intergenerational transmission of generalized anxiety is well-documented, research on the associations between parents’ math anxiety and children’s math anxiety and mathematics outcomes is still limited. In this longitudinal study (N = 126), we investigated the associations between parents’ math anxiety (as measured when children were 3 years of age) and children’s math anxiety and math skills at 8 years of age. The development of children’s mathematics skills from 3 to 8 years was also investigated. Results of longitudinal structural equation models revealed that parents’ math anxiety was associated with children’s mathematics skills in the preschool years even after controlling for parental education. In turn, children’s mathematics skills in the preschool years were associated both with children’s mathematics skills and their mathematics anxiety at age 8. In addition, there was an indirect link between parents’ math anxiety, as measured when their children were age 3, and children’s mathematics skills at age 8, which was mediated by children’s early mathematics skills in the preschool years. In sum, these findings suggest that although parents’ math anxiety is not directly related to the development of math anxiety in their children, it may be negatively related to the development of children’s early mathematical skills, which are strong predictors not only of academic achievement but also of success and well-being in adulthood.