The effect of peer mathematics anxiety on students’ mathematics anxiety and achievement

The aim of this study was to determine whether students’ mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement differed significantly according to grade level and gender, and to examine the effects of different peer types and their anxiety levels on students’ mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement. A correlational survey design was employed. The sample consisted of 349 fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-grade students enrolled in three public schools affiliated with the Turkish Ministry of National Education in a provincial center located in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye. Data were collected using the Mathematics Anxiety Scale, the Personal Information Form, the Sociometric Peer Relations Form, and students’ mathematics grades. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that mathematics achievement differed significantly only by grade level, whereas a significant interaction between grade level and gender was found for mathematics anxiety. The SEM results showed that mathematics anxiety significantly and negatively predicted mathematics achievement. In addition, deskmate anxiety had both direct and indirect effects on mathematics achievement through mathematics anxiety, whereas the anxiety of frequently interacting friends affected mathematics achievement only indirectly through mathematics anxiety. The model including deskmate anxiety, frequently interacting friend anxiety, and mathematics anxiety explained approximately 22% of the variance in mathematics achievement. These findings indicate that different types of peer relationships influence mathematics achievement through mathematics anxiety and that mathematics anxiety plays an important mediating role in this process.