According to research performed by The University of Missouri, California at Irvine, and the University of Glasgow, teenage girls have more anxiety related to math than boys their age. 700,000 students were evaluated across 68 countries using an international test in 2003 and 2012. Students answered questions about the amount of nervousness they feel when answering math questions.
Do your girls suffer from math anxiety more than your boys? This study might tell you why!
Teenage girls have more anxiety than boys in math
This study also showed that there was less overall anxiety felt by students from more developed countries than those that are less developed. Surprisingly, in developed countries, female students showed an alarmingly higher amount of anxiety. Researchers feel that the social idea that math is a masculine specialty may be the reason women feel less sure about their skills in math.
Other research has pointed to social conditioning. Math has long been considered a masculine subject across the globe, which may make female students feel inferior before they take their first lesson.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- Girls are more susceptible to math anxiety than their fellow male classmates, even among top achievers.
- Math anxiety can cause long term economic problems for them including fewer career prospects.
- Researchers are finding a connection to social conditioning because math has often been known as a men’s subject, which would make women feel more inferior.
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