Deficiency or disturbance? Examining longitudinal associations between executive functions and children’s mathematics anxiety during middle and late childhood.
- Autores: Bijuan Huang, Chang Liu, Kaiyue Guo, Yanli Xu, Hongxia Li, Yuting Han, Jiwei Si
- Localización: Journal of educational psychology, ISSN-e 1939-2176, ISSN 0022-0663, Vol. 117, Nº. 5, 2025, págs. 737-754
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
Research has consistently shown a strong association between executive functions and mathematics anxiety. However, the directionality and the existence of prospective relationships in mid- and late-childhood have remained unknown. Children (N = 1,161, Mage = 9.40 years old, 50.30% female) were recruited as part of the Chinese Mathematical Cognition, Affection, and Motivation project. A battery of executive functions and a series of questionnaires, including items on mathematics anxiety, were administered at 6-month intervals. The cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) and the random-intercept CLPM were employed to examine prospective reciprocal relations, with all unobserved confounders (e.g., gender, nonverbal intelligence) adjusted for. The executive functions measures were found to load onto a single common factor while separate factors for mathematics anxiety about learning and evaluation were identified. The CLPM analysis showed that executive function negatively predicted mathematics anxiety for learning at the subsequent time point, providing empirical support for the deficiency view. After separating the between-subject effects, the random-intercept CLPM analysis identified a positive loop between executive function and mathematics anxiety for learning. However, these findings were not present in mathematics anxiety for evaluation. These findings encourage educators to consider anxiety from multiple perspectives and enhance our understanding of cognitive and emotional development in educational contexts.
