title: Do girls really experience more anxiety in mathematics?
abstract: Two studies were conducted to examine gender differences in trait (habitual) versus state (momentary) mathematics anxiety in a sample of students (Study 1: N = 584; Study 2: N = 111). For trait math anxiety, the findings of both studies replicated previous research showing that female students report higher levels of anxiety than do male students. However, no gender differences were observed for state anxiety, as assessed using experience-sampling methods while students took a math test (Study 1) and attended math classes (Study 2). The discrepant findings for trait versus state math anxiety were partly accounted for by students' beliefs about their competence in mathematics, with female students reporting lower perceived competence than male students despite having the same average grades in math. Implications for educational practices and the assessment of anxiety are discussed.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Empirical Educational Research, University of Konstanz.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.forename: Madeleine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bieg
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lüdtke
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pekrun
authors.forename: Nathan C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D010551:Personality; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: academic achievement; emotions; mathematics achievement; science education; sex differences