More Than Just Anxiety: Math Attitudes as Key Driver of University Choice

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• Mathematics anxiety affects academic performance and career paths, often deterring students from math-intensive fields.
• Factors like general anxiety, neuroticism, and math attitudes (self-concept, self-efficacy) are related to math anxiety but less studied.
• Understanding these interconnected factors is vital for addressing educational and career choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how different profiles of math anxiety and attitudes influence students' choice of study programs with varying math intensity.
• To identify distinct student profiles based on anxiety and attitude combinations.
• To investigate the influence of these profiles on program selection and gender distribution.

Main Methods:

• Latent profile analysis was employed to identify distinct student groups.
• The study included 837 German university students in programs with low, medium, and high math intensity.
• Data analyzed combinations of math anxiety, general anxiety, test anxiety, and math attitudes.

Main Results:

• Seven distinct profiles emerged, characterized by varying combinations of anxiety and math attitudes.
• These profiles differed in their distribution across study programs and the influence of mathematics on program choice.
• Math attitudes, rather than math anxiety alone, were more strongly associated with study choices.
• Gender distribution varied, with women overrepresented in profiles showing lower math attitudes.

Conclusions:

• Math attitudes play a more significant role than math anxiety in students' academic and career choices.
• Recognizing distinct profiles of anxiety and attitudes is essential for effective student guidance.
• Interventions should consider both math anxiety and math attitudes, particularly addressing gender disparities in math-related fields.