Profiles of Mathematics Anxiety Among 15-Year-Old Students: A Cross-Cultural Study Using Multi-Group Latent Profile Analysis

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Xizhen Fan¹  Ronald K. Hambleton²  Minqiang Zhang¹ 

[1] School of Psychology, South China Normal University;College of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States;Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University;Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University

关键词: mathematics anxiety;    multi-group latent profile analysis;    cross-culture;    cultural differences;    mathematics anxiety profiles;    mathematics performance;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01217

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Using PISA 2012 data, the present study explored profiles of mathematics anxiety (MA) among 15-year old students from Finland, Korea, and the United States to determine the similarities and differences of MA across the three national samples by applying a multi-group latent profile analysis (LPA). The major findings were that (a) three MA profiles were found in all three national samples, i.e., Low MA, Mid MA, and High MA profile, and (b) the percentages of students classified into each of the three MA profiles differed across the Finnish, Korean, and American samples, with United States having the highest prevalence of High MA, and Finland the lowest. Multi-group LPA also provided clear and useful latent profile separation. The High MA profile demonstrated significant poorer mathematics performance and lower mathematics interest, self-efficacy, and self-concept than the Mid and Low MA profiles. Same differences appeared between the Mid and Low MA profiles. The implications of the findings seem clear: (1) it is possible that there is some relative level of universality in MA among 15-year old students which is independent of cultural context; and (2) multi-group LPA could be a useful analytic tool for research on the study of classification and cultural differences of MA.

【 授权许可】

CC BY