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To examine the relationship and underlying mechanisms between mathematics anxiety (MA) and mental health among upper-grade students in border ethnic elementary schools, we conducted three substudies. Study 1 surveyed 1636 sixth-grade students from border ethnic elementary schools using the Children's Mathematics Anxiety Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Growth Mindset Scale. Study 2 involved a six-month longitudinal study with three waves of data collection. Study 3 implemented a growth mindset (GM) intervention. The results consistently demonstrated that: (1) MA was positively correlated with psychological symptoms (PS) and negatively correlated with self-efficacy (SE), while SE was negatively correlated with PS; (2) SE partially mediated the effect of MA on PS; and (3) GM significantly moderated the three pathways through which MA influenced PS via SE. These findings provide empirical support for mental health prevention and intervention strategies for upper-grade students in China's border ethnic primary schools.
Chang et al. (Sat,) studied this question.