Abstract
Although the interaction between anxiety and attention is considered crucial for learning and performance in mathematics, few studies have examined these cognitive and affective predictors in a single framework or explored the role of sustained attention in promoting children’s arithmetic performance, using traditional linear analyses and latent profile analysis (LPA). In this paper, state anxieties (in a math test and in an attention test situation), general anxiety traits, sustained attention (performance-based test and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) self-ratings) and math achievement of 403 fourth and fifth graders (55.8% girls) were assessed. A negative correlation between state anxiety prior to the math test and arithmetic achievements was identified, even when controlling for other non-math related state anxieties and general anxiety. Sustained attention was a strong predictor of arithmetic achievement and functioned as a moderator in the anxiety-performance link. LPA identified six distinct profiles that revealed a complex relationship with arithmetic fluency. The weakest achievement was found for a specific math anxiety subgroup. The findings highlight the important role of the interaction of anxiety and sustained attention in children’s ability to perform math and enable new conclusions about the specific nature of math anxiety. Implications for future research are discussed.
Highlights
Research on individual differences in mathematics has focused mainly on domain-general abilities and provided evidence that math builds on cognitive factors, such as executive functions (EF), working memory (WM) and attentional control [1–5]
Attentional deficits are highly associated with anxiety, and it is hypothesized that children with anxiety and attention problems have greater WM impairments [8]
According to the attentional–control theory by Eysenck et al [11], this anxiety–performance link is caused by deficits in the attentional–control system
Summary
Research on individual differences in mathematics has focused mainly on domain-general abilities and provided evidence that math builds on cognitive factors, such as executive functions (EF), working memory (WM) and attentional control [1–5].Besides this considerable number of research findings, fewer studies have examined the role of sustained attention in supporting children’s math learning and achievement [6].Several studies have merely applied short and diverse types of executive control assessments, or obtained information through observer ratings by teachers or parents, evaluating behavioral attention in children’s daily life activities [1–3,5,7].Attentional deficits are highly associated with anxiety, and it is hypothesized that children with anxiety and attention problems have greater WM impairments [8]. Research on individual differences in mathematics has focused mainly on domain-general abilities and provided evidence that math builds on cognitive factors, such as executive functions (EF), working memory (WM) and attentional control [1–5]. Besides this considerable number of research findings, fewer studies have examined the role of sustained attention in supporting children’s math learning and achievement [6]. Intensified research on children was able to relate anxiety directly to mathematics, which explained individual differences in math achievement (e.g., [9,10]). The interaction between cognitive and affective factors, such as anxiety, is seen as crucial for explaining individual differences in mathematics, studies have been considering more recently cognitive and affective variables, mostly in separate research designs [12,13]
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