The Relationship between Types of Anxiety and Under-Achievement in Mathematics

Using regression equations based on the relationship between Otis I.Q. and mathematics achievement and employing the cut-off procedures recommended by Thorndike, a sample of 246 11 and 12-year-old children was divided into groups of over-achievers, achievers, and under-achievers in mathematics. Analysis of variance was used to compare the performances of the three groups on measures of general anxiety, test anxiety, and mathematics anxiety. It was hypothesized that the measure of mathematics-specific anxiety would differentiate the under-achieving group from the other two groups more strongly than the measures of general and test anxiety. The results confirmed the hypothesis.