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Osorio-Cárdenas, A. M., & Lara-Escobar, R. D. (2026). Anxiety and attitudes towards mathematics in a group of Colombian adolescents. Latinoamericana De Estudios Educativos, 21(2), 133–163. https://doi.org/10.17151/rlee.2025.21.2.7
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Abstract
This is a multivariate study that sought to analyze the validity of two questionnaires on attitudes and anxiety towards mathematics. In addition, to identify the relationship between attitudes and anxiety towards mathematics. We worked with 124 students from a secondary and middle school in Colombia with average ages between 15 years old who answered two scales of attitudes and anxiety towards mathematics validated in a doctoral study. From the analysis, it is concluded that students who have higher performances score a better perceived perception towards the teacher. One conclusion is the development of strategies that are focused on the self-regulation of the affective and cognitive dimension of mathematical anxiety.
References
Ashcraft, M. H. (2002). Math anxiety: Personal, educational, and cognitive consequences. Current directions in psychological science, 11(5), 181-185.
Ashcraft, M. H., & Krause, J. A. (2007). Working memory, math performance, and math anxiety. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 14, 243-248.
Barroso, C., Ganley, C. M., McGraw, A. L., Geer, E. A., Hart, S. A., & Daucourt, M. C. (2021). A meta-analysis of the relation between math anxiety and math achievement. Psychological bulletin, 147(2), 134.
Beilock, S. L., Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., & Levine, S. C. (2010). Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(5), 1860-1863.
Bieg, M., Goetz, T., Wolter, I., & Hall, N. C. (2015). Gender stereotype endorsement differentially predicts girls' and boys' trait-state discrepancy in math anxiety. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1404.
Dawes, John G. 2002a. Five point vs. eleven point scales: does it make a difference to data characteristics? Australasian Journal of Market Research 10 (1): 39 - 47.
Dawes, J. (2008). Do data characteristics change according to the number of scale points used? An experiment using 5-point, 7-point and 10-point scales. International journal of market research, 50(1), 61-104.
Dowker, A., Sarkar, A., & Looi, C. Y. (2016). Mathematics anxiety: What have we learned in 60 years?. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 508.
Erickson, S. L. (2015). Math anxiety and metacognition in mathematics education. University of California, Merced.
Finn, R.H. 1972. Effects of Some Variations in Rating Scale Characteristics on the Means and Reliabilities of Ratings. Educational and Psychological Measurement 32: 255-265.
Gresham, G. (2009). An examination of mathematics teacher efficacy and mathematics anxiety in elementary pre-service teachers. The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 22-38.
Gunderson, E. A., Park, D., Maloney, E. A., Beilock, S. L., & Levine, S. C. (2018). Reciprocal relations among motivational frameworks, math anxiety, and math achievement in early elementary school. Journal of Cognition and Development, 19(1), 21-46.
Hembree, R. (1990). The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. Journal for research in mathematics education, 33-46.
Ho, H. Z., Senturk, D., Lam, A. G., Zimmer, J. M., Hong, S., Okamoto, Y., ... & Wang, C. P. (2000). The affective and cognitive dimensions of math anxiety: A cross-national study. Journal for research in Mathematics Education, 31(3), 362-379.
Johnston-Wilder, S., & Moreton, J. (2018). Developing mathematical-resilience-promoting practices in teachers. In ICERI2018 Proceedings (pp. 8228-8237). IATED.
Johnson, Steven M. , Patricia C. Smith, and Susan M. Tucker. 1982. Response format of the job descriptive index: Assessment of reliability and validity by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Journal of Applied Psychology 67 (4): 500-505.
Joshi, A., Kale, S., Chandel, S., & Pal, D. K. (2015). Likert scale: Explored and explained. British journal of applied science & technology, 7(4), 396-403.
Luttenberger, S., Wimmer, S., & Paechter, M. (2018). Spotlight on math anxiety. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 11, 311–322. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S141421
Lyons, I. M., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). When math hurts: math anxiety predicts pain network activation in anticipation of doing math. PloS one, 7(10), e48076.
Namkung, J. M., Peng, P., & Lin, X. (2019). The relation between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance among school-aged students: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 89(3), 459-496.
Núñez-Peña, M. I., & Suarez-Pellicioni, M. (2014). Less precise representation of numerical magnitude in high math-anxious individuals: An ERP study of the size and distance effects. Biological psychology, 103, 176-183.
Núñez-Peña, M. I., & Suárez-Pellicioni, M. (2015). Processing of multi-digit additions in high math-anxious individuals: psychophysiological evidence. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1268.
Ma, X., y Kishor, N. (1997). Assessing the relationship between attitude toward mathematics and achievement in mathematics: A meta-analysis. Journal for research in mathematics education.
Maloney, E. A., y Beilock, S. L. (2012). Math anxiety: Who has it, why it develops, and how to guard against it. Trends in cognitive sciences, 16(8), 404-406.
Markovits, Z. (2011). Beliefs hold by pre-school prospective teachers toward mathematics and its teaching. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 11, 117-121.
Muñoz-Cantero, J. M., & Mato-Vázquez, D. (2007). Elaboración y estructura factorial de un cuestionario para medir la" ansiedad hacia las Matemáticas" en alumnos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria.
Petronzi, D., Hunt, T., & Sheffield, D. (2021). Interventions to address mathematics anxiety: An overview and recommendations. In S. A. Kıray & E. Tomevska-Ilievska (Eds.), Current Studies in Educational Disciplines 2021 (pp. 169-194). ISRES.
Ramirez, G., Hooper, S. Y., Kersting, N. B., Ferguson, R., & Yeager, D. (2018). Teacher math anxiety relates to adolescent students’ math achievement. AERA open, 4(1), 2332858418756052.
Ramirez, G., Shaw, S. T., & Maloney, E. A. (2018). Math anxiety: Past research, promising interventions, and a new interpretation framework. Educational Psychologist, 53(3), 145–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2018.1447384
Sammallahti, E., Finell, J., Jonsson, B., & Korhonen, J. (2023). A Meta-Analysis of Math Anxiety Interventions. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 9(2), 346-362. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.8401
Vázquez, D. M. (2006). Diseño y validación de dos cuestionarios para evaluar las actitudes y la ansiedad hacia las matemáticas en alumnos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (Doctoral dissertation, Universidade da Coruña).
Wahyuni, R., Juniati, D., & Wijayanti, P. (2025). Mathematics anxiety in mathematics education: a bibliometrics analysis. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 19(1), 380-393.
Wang, Z., Hart, S. A., Kovas, Y., Lukowski, S., Soden, B., Thompson, L. A., ... & Petrill, S. A. (2014). Who is afraid of math? Two sources of genetic variance for mathematical anxiety. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 55(9), 1056-1064.
Wigfield, A., y Meece, J. L. (1988). Math anxiety in elementary and secondary school students. Journal of educational Psychology, 80(2), 210.
Ashcraft, M. H., & Krause, J. A. (2007). Working memory, math performance, and math anxiety. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 14, 243-248.
Barroso, C., Ganley, C. M., McGraw, A. L., Geer, E. A., Hart, S. A., & Daucourt, M. C. (2021). A meta-analysis of the relation between math anxiety and math achievement. Psychological bulletin, 147(2), 134.
Beilock, S. L., Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., & Levine, S. C. (2010). Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(5), 1860-1863.
Bieg, M., Goetz, T., Wolter, I., & Hall, N. C. (2015). Gender stereotype endorsement differentially predicts girls' and boys' trait-state discrepancy in math anxiety. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1404.
Dawes, John G. 2002a. Five point vs. eleven point scales: does it make a difference to data characteristics? Australasian Journal of Market Research 10 (1): 39 - 47.
Dawes, J. (2008). Do data characteristics change according to the number of scale points used? An experiment using 5-point, 7-point and 10-point scales. International journal of market research, 50(1), 61-104.
Dowker, A., Sarkar, A., & Looi, C. Y. (2016). Mathematics anxiety: What have we learned in 60 years?. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 508.
Erickson, S. L. (2015). Math anxiety and metacognition in mathematics education. University of California, Merced.
Finn, R.H. 1972. Effects of Some Variations in Rating Scale Characteristics on the Means and Reliabilities of Ratings. Educational and Psychological Measurement 32: 255-265.
Gresham, G. (2009). An examination of mathematics teacher efficacy and mathematics anxiety in elementary pre-service teachers. The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 22-38.
Gunderson, E. A., Park, D., Maloney, E. A., Beilock, S. L., & Levine, S. C. (2018). Reciprocal relations among motivational frameworks, math anxiety, and math achievement in early elementary school. Journal of Cognition and Development, 19(1), 21-46.
Hembree, R. (1990). The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. Journal for research in mathematics education, 33-46.
Ho, H. Z., Senturk, D., Lam, A. G., Zimmer, J. M., Hong, S., Okamoto, Y., ... & Wang, C. P. (2000). The affective and cognitive dimensions of math anxiety: A cross-national study. Journal for research in Mathematics Education, 31(3), 362-379.
Johnston-Wilder, S., & Moreton, J. (2018). Developing mathematical-resilience-promoting practices in teachers. In ICERI2018 Proceedings (pp. 8228-8237). IATED.
Johnson, Steven M. , Patricia C. Smith, and Susan M. Tucker. 1982. Response format of the job descriptive index: Assessment of reliability and validity by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Journal of Applied Psychology 67 (4): 500-505.
Joshi, A., Kale, S., Chandel, S., & Pal, D. K. (2015). Likert scale: Explored and explained. British journal of applied science & technology, 7(4), 396-403.
Luttenberger, S., Wimmer, S., & Paechter, M. (2018). Spotlight on math anxiety. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 11, 311–322. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S141421
Lyons, I. M., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). When math hurts: math anxiety predicts pain network activation in anticipation of doing math. PloS one, 7(10), e48076.
Namkung, J. M., Peng, P., & Lin, X. (2019). The relation between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance among school-aged students: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 89(3), 459-496.
Núñez-Peña, M. I., & Suarez-Pellicioni, M. (2014). Less precise representation of numerical magnitude in high math-anxious individuals: An ERP study of the size and distance effects. Biological psychology, 103, 176-183.
Núñez-Peña, M. I., & Suárez-Pellicioni, M. (2015). Processing of multi-digit additions in high math-anxious individuals: psychophysiological evidence. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1268.
Ma, X., y Kishor, N. (1997). Assessing the relationship between attitude toward mathematics and achievement in mathematics: A meta-analysis. Journal for research in mathematics education.
Maloney, E. A., y Beilock, S. L. (2012). Math anxiety: Who has it, why it develops, and how to guard against it. Trends in cognitive sciences, 16(8), 404-406.
Markovits, Z. (2011). Beliefs hold by pre-school prospective teachers toward mathematics and its teaching. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 11, 117-121.
Muñoz-Cantero, J. M., & Mato-Vázquez, D. (2007). Elaboración y estructura factorial de un cuestionario para medir la" ansiedad hacia las Matemáticas" en alumnos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria.
Petronzi, D., Hunt, T., & Sheffield, D. (2021). Interventions to address mathematics anxiety: An overview and recommendations. In S. A. Kıray & E. Tomevska-Ilievska (Eds.), Current Studies in Educational Disciplines 2021 (pp. 169-194). ISRES.
Ramirez, G., Hooper, S. Y., Kersting, N. B., Ferguson, R., & Yeager, D. (2018). Teacher math anxiety relates to adolescent students’ math achievement. AERA open, 4(1), 2332858418756052.
Ramirez, G., Shaw, S. T., & Maloney, E. A. (2018). Math anxiety: Past research, promising interventions, and a new interpretation framework. Educational Psychologist, 53(3), 145–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2018.1447384
Sammallahti, E., Finell, J., Jonsson, B., & Korhonen, J. (2023). A Meta-Analysis of Math Anxiety Interventions. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 9(2), 346-362. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.8401
Vázquez, D. M. (2006). Diseño y validación de dos cuestionarios para evaluar las actitudes y la ansiedad hacia las matemáticas en alumnos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (Doctoral dissertation, Universidade da Coruña).
Wahyuni, R., Juniati, D., & Wijayanti, P. (2025). Mathematics anxiety in mathematics education: a bibliometrics analysis. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 19(1), 380-393.
Wang, Z., Hart, S. A., Kovas, Y., Lukowski, S., Soden, B., Thompson, L. A., ... & Petrill, S. A. (2014). Who is afraid of math? Two sources of genetic variance for mathematical anxiety. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 55(9), 1056-1064.
Wigfield, A., y Meece, J. L. (1988). Math anxiety in elementary and secondary school students. Journal of educational Psychology, 80(2), 210.
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