Math anxiety has been historically overlooked in samples of children. This may be due in part to the lack of appropriate tools to measure anxiety in young children. The current exploratory study reports on the development and examination of reliability, validity, and factor structure of a new tool to measure math anxiety in young children. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that the Children’s Anxiety in Math Scale is a reliable and valid measure to assess math anxiety in children as young as first grade.
AshcraftM. H.KirkE. P. (2001). The relationship among working memory, math anxiety, and performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130, 224-237.
2.
AshcraftM. H.KirkE. P.HopkoD. (1998). On the cognitive consequences of mathematics anxiety. In DonlanC. (Ed.), The development of mathematical skills (pp. 175-196). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
3.
AshcraftM. H.MooreA. M. (2009). Mathematics anxiety and the affective drop in performance. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 27, 197-205.
4.
AshcraftM. H.RidleyK. S. (2005). Math anxiety and its cognitive consequences: A tutorial review. In CampbellJ. I. D. (Ed.), Handbook of mathematical cognition (pp. 315-326). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
5.
BuchananH.NivenN. (2002). Validation of a Facial Image Scale to assess child dental anxiety. International Journal of Pediatric Dentistry, 12, 47-52.
6.
ChiuL.HenryL. L. (1990). Development and validation of the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Children. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 23, 121-127.
7.
DeLoacheJ. S. (2000). Dual representation and young children’s use of scale models. Child Development, 71, 329-338.
8.
DeLoacheJ. S.KolstadD. V.AndersonK. N. (1991). Physical similarity and children’s understanding of scale models. Child Development, 62, 111-126.
9.
GierlM. J.BisanzJ. (1995). Anxieties and attitudes related to mathematics in grades 3 and 6. Journal of Experimental Education, 63, 139-159.
10.
HembreeR. (1990). The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 21, 33-46.
11.
HopkoD. R.MahadevanR.BareR. L.HuntM. A. (2003). The Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS): Construction, reliability, and validity. Assessment, 10, 178-182.
12.
JamesonM. M.RossB. F. (2011, May). Math anxiety in urban and suburban elementary school students. Paper presented at the Association for Psychological Science Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
13.
KrinzingerH.KaufmanL.WillmesK. (2009). Math anxiety and math ability in early primary school years. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 27, 206-225.
14.
LeFevreJ. A.KulakA. G.HeymansS. L. (1992). Factors influencing the selection of university majors varying in mathematical content. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 24, 276-289.
15.
MaX. (1999). A meta-analysis of the relationship between anxiety toward mathematics and achievement in mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 30, 520-540.
16.
RichardsonF. C.SuinnR. M. (1972). The Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 19, 551-554.
17.
SuinnR. M.TaylorS.EdwardsR. W. (1988). Suinn Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale for Elementary School Students (MARS-E): Psychometric and normative data. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 48, 979-986.
18.
WilkinsonG. S.RobertsonG. J. (2006). Wide-Range Achievement Test 4 Professional Manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
