The proposed quasi-experimental study explores the effects of mathematics anxiety on the mental health of mathematics students in higher secondary level in West Bengal, India. Seventy students in government-aided schools in the North 24 Parganas and Kolkata districts were chosen and 35 of them were put in an experimental group to be subjected to cognitive-behavioral intervention and 35 in a control group to receive normal instruction. The West Bengal Adolescent Mental Health Scale (WBAMHS) was used to determine mental health both before and after 6 weeks of intervention. Findings revealed that the results were significantly higher in the experimental (pre-test mean: 43.67, post-test mean: 63.60) than in the control (pre-test mean: 42.63, post-test mean: 48.55) group. The intervention showed the big effect size (Cohen d = 1.82), which means that the specific psychological support can be used to reduce mathematics anxiety and enhance the overall mental well-being of mathematics learners. The results indicate that there is an immediate necessity of considering mental health support in mathematics education programs in West Bengal.
Shrabani Mandal (Tue,) studied this question.