Home‐Rearing Environment and Early Math Achievement: Longitudinal Mediation Through Children’s Self-Regulation and Math Anxiety

Research Findings: This longitudinal study examined the relationship between the home-rearing environment and children’s math achievement and the potential mediating roles of children’s self-regulation and math anxiety. Families play a crucial role in supporting children’s school readiness, with early math achievement being a particularly important component. Although existing studies highlight the beneficial effects of the home-rearing environment on early math, the specific pathways remain underexplored, especially in the context of Chinese preschoolers. To examine these relationships, a total of 306 Chinese preschool children (52.29% girls; Mage = 4.52 years at T1) participated in a three-wave longitudinal study, with adjacent assessments (i.e., T1 and T2, T2 and T3) spaced approximately seven months apart. Analyses using structural equation modeling revealed that children’s self-regulation and math anxiety jointly served as mediators in the association between the home-rearing environment and early math achievement. Specifically, a high-quality home-rearing environment at T1 predicted better self-regulation and lower math anxiety at T2, which in turn predicted higher math achievement at T3. Practice or Policy: The results offer valuable insights into potential pathways and have implications for designing family-centered interventions that engage both parents and children to support children’s emotional and behavioral health, thereby improving early math skills.