Mathematics Anxiety and Attitudes Toward Mathematics

Abstract
Little is known about the nature and measures of mathematics anxiety or the characteristics of participants in math-anxiety treatment programs. This study reports, the relationship among measures of mathematics anxiety—the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) and the Math Anxiety scale (MAS), and the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude scales and a measure of arithmetic performance for 124 female adult participants in a math-anxiety treatment program. The correlational results indicated that the MARS and the MAS measure similar but not identical components of the mathematics-anxiety domain, and that the mathematics-anxiety scales and the Fennema-Sherman scales of Confidence and Effectance Motivation measure similar affective dimensions and were approximately equal predictors of arithmetic performance. A description of participants' attitudes toward mathematics is provided with implications for treatment of mathematics anxiety.