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03 Feb, 2025
The study, conducted by experts from Loughborough University and three Italian universities, followed nearly 130 children over five years. Parents' levels of maths anxiety were assessed when their children were three years old, and their children's mathematical development was tracked from ages three to eight.
The aim of the study was to assess whether maths anxiety can be passed on from parents to children and if parental maths anxiety influences children’s mathematical development over time. While the study found no evidence that children would internalise their parents' anxiety about maths, it did uncover a significant link between parental maths anxiety and children's numeracy skills.
“Our results reveal that parental maths anxiety does impact children’s maths outcomes, even when differences in parental education are taken into account”, says Dr Kinga Morsanyi, an expert in mathematical cognition at Loughborough University, who was part of the research team.
“We found that parents who reported feeling anxious about maths when their children were three raised children with poorer early numeracy skills than parents with lower levels of anxiety.
“This effect continued as their children grew and entered school, with the same children still showing lower maths performance at the age of eight, which is remarkable, given the strong influence of schooling on maths development.”
Early maths development has been found to be a key predictor of future academic success, which, in turn, influences crucial life outcomes, including career opportunities, earning potential, and even long-term mental and physical wellbeing.
Dr Morsanyi hopes the study findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, highlight the need for initiatives that not only enable parents to support their children’s maths learning, but help them to develop positive attitudes and confidence towards the subject.
For parents concerned about their maths anxiety wanting to take action now, Dr Morsanyi says avoiding speaking negatively about maths is a good start.