Math Anxiety: How Close Are We to Solving the Puzzle?

The main focus of this thesis is to determine to what extent the research on math anxiety has flourished mainly in the light of psychological variables. Considering the history of math anxiety, the thesis attempts to discuss joint research strands in the literature and their departures. Further, to close the gap between math anxiety and math performance research areas, this work highlights the multidimensional nature of math anxiety and its correlates, encompassing crucial empirical studies. A great line of research from developmental studies has shown that math anxiety can develop in early childhood; therefore, it is inevitable to emphasize early intervention for math anxiety. However, the results on the impact and effectiveness of the interventions to reduce math anxiety, particularly among school children, are found to be susceptible to duration and type of intervention used. Moreover, the current thesis suggests focusing on unique factors such as individual differences and mathematics resilience, among others discussed, that might add up to solving the math anxiety puzzle.