About this srcd poster session

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Panel information
Panel 3. Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Abstract

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Background: Math anxiety is a negative emotional response to current or prospective participation in math activities. Empirical results leveraging self-reported data show math anxiety can undermine academic success (Hill et. all, 2016). However, math anxiety is a psychobiological phenomenon, and little is known about how self-reports are linked to physiological stress responses when doing math. Moreover, math anxiety can also be transmitted from parent to child, particularly during interactions in which parents help children with their math homework (e.g., Maloney et al, 2015). Given that parent-child interactions are bidirectional (Pardini, 2008), it is also possible that children’s math anxiety impacts parents physiological stress response during math-related interactions. However, empirical tests of this link are lacking, leaving a significant gap in the literature. In this pre-registered study, we propose to examine the actor (i.e., parent-parent, child-child) and partner (i.e., parent-child, child-parent) effects of parent and child math anxiety on their parasympathetic responses (i.e., via respiratory sinus arrhythmia, or RSA) during joint math tasks. We hypothesize that parent and child self-reported math anxiety will be associated with lower RSA levels (i.e., indicating more stress) during math activities.

Methods: Kindergarteners and their primary caregivers are currently being recruited as part of an ongoing US-based multi-site project. Parent-child dyads complete a two-hour laboratory visit, where parents' and children’s RSA is measured during two 5-min math tasks (i.e., grade-level and challenging task). For both tasks, dyads are asked to complete as many problems as possible in any order. Parents are also asked to report their math anxiety on a Qualtrics parent survey. Children’s math anxiety is assessed via an interview. To date, data from 47 participants have been collected of an anticipated 150 families for analyses by April 2025.

Proposed Analysis: Two actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) will be used to assess the effects of self-reported math anxiety on RSA reactivity during math tasks within distinguishable parent-child dyads (see Figure 1). Separate actor effects (e.g., parent math anxiety on parent RSA reactivity) and partner effects (e.g., parent math anxiety on child RSA reactivity) will be estimated using structural equation modeling. Model fit will be evaluated using established cutoffs (i.e., CFI = .95, TLI = .95, RMSEA = .08, SRMR = .08). The first model will feature dyad’s RSA reactivity during the grade-level math task as an outcome, and the second model will test RSA reactivity during the challenging math task as an outcome. Wald tests comparing parallel effect sizes will be used to determine whether the strength of associations differs by math task.

Impact: Results of this study will add to the literature by elucidating the relation between self-report anxiety measures and physiological math stress reactivity. Further, we will uncover effects of children’s and parents’ math anxiety on each other’s math stress response. Understanding the connection between physiological stress responses and math anxiety will inform parents, teachers, and clinicians of the parental role in the development of math anxiety through modeling emotion responses during problem-solving.

Author information

Author	Role
Kailani Restrepo, University of Georgia	Presenting author
Cory Alika Carvalho, University of Georgia	Non-presenting author
Dr. Zhe Wang, Texas A&M University	Non-presenting author
Dr. Sarah H. Eason, Purdue University	Non-presenting author
Dr. Niyantri Ravindran, University of Georgia	Non-presenting author

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