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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1484381
This article is part of the Research Topic Youth Mental Health, Particularly in Asian Populations View all 33 articles

Factors Predicting the Mathematics Anxiety of Adolescents: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Provisionally accepted
Suman Ahmmed Suman Ahmmed Jashodhan Saha Jashodhan Saha Maruf Ahmed Tamal Maruf Ahmed Tamal *
  • United International University, Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Mathematics anxiety (MA) is a distinct negative emotional state or trait that individuals experience when confronted with mathematical problems in everyday life and academic contexts. This study aims to identify the key predictors of MA among secondary-level students in Bangladesh. Utilizing a quantitative crosssectional research design, data were collected from 486 students across 89 institutions. Later, the data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that math related negative past experiences (β = 0.241, t = 4.914, p < 0.001) and a perceived lack of teacher support (β = 0.234, t = 5.440, p < 0.001) significantly contribute to students' low self-efficacy in mathematics. This low self-efficacy is further influenced by negative attitudes and test anxiety, ultimately leading to increased MA (β = 0.694, t = 22.695, p < 0.001). Additionally, cognitive challenges, particularly working memory difficulties, directly affect MA (β = 0.110, t = 2.659, p = 0.008). The study also found that negative attitudes (β = 0.347, t = 9.063, p < 0.001) and test anxiety (β = 0.251, t = 5.913, p < 0.001) independently exacerbate MA. Moreover, a lack of motivation in learning mathematics is directly influenced by this elevated level of MA (β = 0.384, t = 9.939, p < 0.001). Taken together, the study proposes several key recommendations and policy implications to inform the development of synchronized policies by educational authorities aimed at combatting, reducing MA among secondary-level students in Bangladesh and similar contexts.

    Keywords: Mathematics anxiety, mathematics performance, factors of mathematics anxiety, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), adolescents in Bangladesh

    Received: 21 Aug 2024; Accepted: 07 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ahmmed, Saha and Tamal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Maruf Ahmed Tamal, United International University, Dhaka, 1209, Dhaka, Bangladesh

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