A Network Psychometric Analysis of Math Anxiety Factors in Italian Psychology Students
Dealing with mathematics can induce significant anxiety, affecting academic performance: this phenomenon is known as Math Anxiety (MA). While math anxiety scales were mostly developed in English, some have been translated and validated for Italian populations (e.g., the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Psychology International |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-9844/7/2/48 |
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| author | Emma Franchino Luciana Ciringione Luisa Canal Ottavia Marina Epifania Luigi Lombardi Gianluca Lattanzi Massimo Stella |
| author_facet | Emma Franchino Luciana Ciringione Luisa Canal Ottavia Marina Epifania Luigi Lombardi Gianluca Lattanzi Massimo Stella |
| author_sort | Emma Franchino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dealing with mathematics can induce significant anxiety, affecting academic performance: this phenomenon is known as Math Anxiety (MA). While math anxiety scales were mostly developed in English, some have been translated and validated for Italian populations (e.g., the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale). This study translated the 3-factor MAS-UK scale into Italian, producing a new tool, MAS-IT, which was validated in a sample of 324 Italian psychology undergraduates. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) tested the original MAS-UK 3-factor model and revealed that it did not fit the MAS-IT data. A subsequent Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) identified four distinct factors of math anxiety in MAS-IT. The “Passive Observation MA” factor remained stable across the analyses, whereas the “Evaluation MA” and “Everyday/Social MA” items showed poor stability. These quantitative findings suggest potential cultural or contextual differences in the expression of math anxiety among today’s psychology undergraduates, highlighting the need for more appropriate assessment tools tailored to this population. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e57c6c07b62247d7b8969a3201a7a9a2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2813-9844 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psychology International |
| spelling | doaj-art-e57c6c07b62247d7b8969a3201a7a9a22025-08-20T03:16:38ZengMDPI AGPsychology International2813-98442025-06-01724810.3390/psycholint7020048A Network Psychometric Analysis of Math Anxiety Factors in Italian Psychology StudentsEmma Franchino0Luciana Ciringione1Luisa Canal2Ottavia Marina Epifania3Luigi Lombardi4Gianluca Lattanzi5Massimo Stella6CogNosco Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyDepartment of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyDepartment of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyDepartment of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyDepartment of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyDepartment of Physics, University of Trento, 38123 Povo, ItalyCogNosco Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyDealing with mathematics can induce significant anxiety, affecting academic performance: this phenomenon is known as Math Anxiety (MA). While math anxiety scales were mostly developed in English, some have been translated and validated for Italian populations (e.g., the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale). This study translated the 3-factor MAS-UK scale into Italian, producing a new tool, MAS-IT, which was validated in a sample of 324 Italian psychology undergraduates. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) tested the original MAS-UK 3-factor model and revealed that it did not fit the MAS-IT data. A subsequent Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) identified four distinct factors of math anxiety in MAS-IT. The “Passive Observation MA” factor remained stable across the analyses, whereas the “Evaluation MA” and “Everyday/Social MA” items showed poor stability. These quantitative findings suggest potential cultural or contextual differences in the expression of math anxiety among today’s psychology undergraduates, highlighting the need for more appropriate assessment tools tailored to this population.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-9844/7/2/48math anxietypsychometricsassessment scalepsychology studentscomplex networks |
| spellingShingle | Emma Franchino Luciana Ciringione Luisa Canal Ottavia Marina Epifania Luigi Lombardi Gianluca Lattanzi Massimo Stella A Network Psychometric Analysis of Math Anxiety Factors in Italian Psychology Students Psychology International math anxiety psychometrics assessment scale psychology students complex networks |
| title | A Network Psychometric Analysis of Math Anxiety Factors in Italian Psychology Students |
| title_full | A Network Psychometric Analysis of Math Anxiety Factors in Italian Psychology Students |
| title_fullStr | A Network Psychometric Analysis of Math Anxiety Factors in Italian Psychology Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Network Psychometric Analysis of Math Anxiety Factors in Italian Psychology Students |
| title_short | A Network Psychometric Analysis of Math Anxiety Factors in Italian Psychology Students |
| title_sort | network psychometric analysis of math anxiety factors in italian psychology students |
| topic | math anxiety psychometrics assessment scale psychology students complex networks |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-9844/7/2/48 |
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