The role of parents' math anxiety in their control and autonomy support in the math context

Abstract

Although many adults suffer from math anxiety, relatively little is known about the role of parents’ math anxiety in the socialization process. Drawing from models of socialization in which both parents and children are influential, my dissertation examined how parents’ math anxiety and children’s achievement contribute to parents’ controlling and autonomy-supportive involvement in children’s math learning and the role of such involvement in children’s math anxiety and achievement over time. Parents (N = 554) of young elementary school children (Mage = 7.48; 50% girls) reported on their math anxiety as well as their controlling and autonomy- supportive involvement in children’s math learning; trained observers also coded such parenting. At this time and a year later, children’s math anxiety and achievement were assessed. Parents with higher math anxiety were more controlling and less autonomy supportive with children who had poorer math achievement. Controlling parenting predicted decrements in math achievement a year later among children who initially had poorer math achievement. The findings suggest that math-anxious parents are particularly sensitive to children’s difficulty with math and may use practices that further undermine the math achievement of children already struggling.