Table 6.
Math Anxiety differences with responses provided by 10 or more participants on Life Events Scale Open-ended Questions.
| Open-ended question response | Mean (SD) | t-value (df) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. MOVING HOMES AS A CHILD AND DURING WHAT GRADES | |||
| Elementary School | |||
| No (n = 103, 79.8%)† | 68.19(18.41) | ||
| Yes (n = 25, 19.4%) | 66.06(20.45) | 0.75 (126) | 0.457 |
| Junior High School | |||
| No (n = 113, 87.6%)† | 66.89(18.39) | ||
| Yes (n = 14, 10.9%) | 83.97(14.37) | 3.35(125) | 0.001* |
| Before Elementary School | |||
| No (n = 103, 79.8%)† | 68.31(18.72) | ||
| Yes (n = 24, 18.6%) | 70.77(19.05) | 0.58 (125) | 0.564 |
| 6. CHANGE SCHOOLS OTHER THAN TRANSITIONS FROM LEVELS | |||
| Prior to Elementary School | |||
| No (n = 104, 80.6%)† | 68.13(19.70) | ||
| Yes (n = 24, 18.8%) | 69.58(15.20) | 0.34 (126) | 0.736 |
| Elementary School | |||
| No (n = 107, 82.9%)† | 67.57(18.81) | ||
| Yes (n = 21, 16.4%) | 72.64 (19.17) | 1.13 (126) | 0.263 |
| Junior High School | |||
| No (n = 113, 87.6%)† | 66.79(18.60) | ||
| Yes (n = 15, 11.7%) | 80.56(17.02) | −2.72 (126) | 0.007* |
| 7. MOVE TO A NEW SCHOOL WITHIN THE SCHOOL YEAR | |||
| No (n = 99, 76.7%)† | 67.05(18.58) | ||
| Yes (n = 27, 20.9%) | 71.78(19.69) | 1.16 (124) | 0.249 |
| 8. MOVING SCHOOLS AFFECT MATH PERFORMANCE | |||
| No (n = 39, 30.2%)† | 73.66(16.89) | ||
| Yes (n = 78, 60.5%) | 66.19(19.57) | 2.03 (115) | 0.044 |
| 10. EVENTS IN SCHOOL THAT SHAPED FEELINGS IN MATH | |||
| Good math teachers (n = 23, 17.8%) | 64.37(14.82) | 0.92 (118) | 0.359 |
| Doing well and/or being confident in their math ability (n = 17, 13.2%) | 57.88(14.78) | 2.35 (118) | 0.021 |
| Being asked to take part in competitions and/or clubs (n = 16, 12.4%) | 61.91(21.39) | 1.31 (118) | 0.194 |
| Doing poorly or lower than own expectations (n = 15, 11.6%) | 76.83(19.56) | 2.06 (118) | 0.042** |
| Bad math teachers (n = 11, 8.5%) | 74.48(21.00) | −1.22 (118) | 0.224 |
| Being nominated/receiving awards for math (n = 11, 8.5%) | 56.64(17.52) | 2.06 (118) | 0.042 |
| 11. POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES IN MATH DUE TO GENDER | |||
| No (n = 101, 78.3%)† | 68.22(19.26) | ||
| Yes (n = 22, 17.1%) | 67.68(17.10) | −0.12 (121) | 0.905 |
| Negative (n = 15, 11.6%) | 72.27(16.73) | 0.91 (121) | 0.365 |
| 12. DURING SCHOOL, YOU OR FAMILY MEMBER EXPERIENCE PHYSICAL OR MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS | |||
| No (n = 71, 55.0%)† | 65.19(18.52) | ||
| Yes (n = 55, 42.6%) | 72.16(18.99) | 2.07 (124) | 0.040 |
| A family member had experienced major physical health problems (n = 27, 20.9%) | 67.91(19.10) | 0.65 (96) | 0.520 |
| Personal mental health problems (n = 10, 7.8%) | 73.90(20.56) | 1.38 (79) | 0.173 |
| 13. DURING SCHOOL, YOU OR FAMILY EXPERIENCE SUBSTANCE ABUSE | |||
| No (n = 107, 82.9%)† | 67.59(18.99) | ||
| Yes (n = 16, 12.4%) | 73.62(15.24) | 1.21 (121) | 0.228 |
| 14. EXPERIENCES IN PERSONAL LIFE AFFECTED ACADEMIC ABILITY | |||
| No (n = 64, 49.6%)† | 64.98(18.25) | ||
| Yes (n = 63, 48.8%) | 71.49(19.13) | 1.96 (125) | 0.052 |
| Mental health problems, either personal or familial (n = 12, 9.3%) | 79.00(17.13) | 2.46 (74) | 0.016 |
Complete text of the open-ended questions can be found in Appendix B (Supplementary Material).
*
p < 0.01.
**
p < 0.01 after controlling for general and test anxiety.
†
Indicates the comparison group for all analyses within that question.