An investigation of the relationship between mathematics anxiety in secondary school students and parental mathematics anxiety and parental support

In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationships between mathematics anxiety levels of middle school students and parental mathematics anxiety, parental support and pressure; in addition, the relationship between students' mathematics anxiety and their academic achievement was evaluated. In addition, it was aimed to examine the effect of individual variables such as gender, grade level, parental education level and socioeconomic status on students' anxiety levels. The study was conducted with the relational model, one of the quantitative research designs. The sample group was determined by systematic sampling, one of the probability sampling methods, among the students studying in secondary schools in a central district in the Mediterranean Region. The study covers a group of 610 students and their parents (mother or father) in the 2024-2025 academic year. Data were collected through the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale Primary Form, Parental Mathematics Anxiety Scale, and Parental Academic Achievement Support and Pressure Scale. Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis H test and Spearman correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that students had low levels of general math anxiety. Among the anxiety sub dimensions, the highest averages were observed in test and teacher-related anxiety. According to the gender variable, female students exhibited higher anxiety levels than male students in all sub-dimensions. According to grade level, a significant difference was found only in procedural anxiety; fifth grade students experienced higher procedural anxiety. While there was a significant difference in some sub-dimensions according to mother's education level, there was no significant difference according to father's education level and socioeconomic status. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant negative relationship between students' math anxiety and their academic achievement. In addition, significant positive correlations were found between students' math anxiety and parental math anxiety and parental pressure, and negative correlations were found between students' math anxiety and parental support. The results reveal that math anxiety is shaped by both individual and environmental factors.