Explaining the Causal Relationship Between Epistemological Beliefs and Math Anxiety Among Female Second-Year High School Students in Fereydounkenar with the Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility
Keywords:
students, epistemological beliefs, cognitive flexibility, Math anxietyAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the causal relationship between epistemological beliefs and math anxiety with the mediating role of cognitive flexibility among female high school students in Fereydounkenar.
Methodology: This research employed a descriptive–correlational design using structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all female students in the second cycle of high school in Fereydounkenar during the 2023–2024 academic year, from which 360 participants were selected based on the criterion of 25 cases per observed variable. Data were collected using the Schommer Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (1990), the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory by Dennis and Vander Wal (2010), and the Math Anxiety Rating Scale revised by Plake and Parker (1982). Analyses were conducted using SPSS-27 and AMOS-24, and direct and indirect effects were estimated through bootstrapping.
Findings: Epistemological beliefs had a positive and significant direct effect on math anxiety (b = 0.56, p < 0.001). Cognitive flexibility showed a negative and significant direct effect on math anxiety (b = −0.26, p < 0.001). Epistemological beliefs had a negative and significant direct effect on cognitive flexibility (b = −0.35, p < 0.001). Moreover, epistemological beliefs exerted a positive and significant indirect effect on math anxiety through cognitive flexibility (b = 0.09, p < 0.001). Overall, the structural model demonstrated adequate fit.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that epistemological beliefs influence math anxiety both directly and indirectly by reducing cognitive flexibility. Enhancing students’ epistemological beliefs and cognitive flexibility may serve as effective pathways for reducing math anxiety, and they provide significant implications for educational planning and psychological interventions.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Leila Babaie, Jamal Sadeghi, Nabiollah Akbarnetaj Shoob, Rajabali Mohammadzadeh Admalai, Arsalan Khan Mohammadi (Author)
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