Trait and state mathematics anxiety in autistic and non-autistic school-aged boys.
Rachele Lievore, Irene C Mammarella
PMID 39625174WHAT IT FOUND
In 110 boys aged 8 to 16, autistic boys reported more worries and less pleasant feelings during a timed math task, and scored lower, even though their long-term math anxiety questionnaire did not differ from non-autistic boys.
Key findings
01Long-term math anxiety scores did not differ between autistic and non-autistic boys.
02Autistic boys scored lower on the timed mental calculation task than non-autistic boys.
03During the timed task, autistic boys reported more worries and less pleasant feelings than non-autistic boys.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only boys aged 8 to 16 were studied, so results may not apply to autistic girls or mixed-gender school settings. The study had no math task without time pressure, so it cannot show that time pressure alone caused lower accuracy or higher state anxiety. Autistic boys were already less accurate and slower on a screening mental calculation test, so some differences may reflect math skill rather than anxiety. The study did not measure working memory, general anxiety, or test anxiety, so other factors could explain the results. Self-report may not fully capture anxiety in autistic children, and the authors note possible difficulty recognising or verbalising emotions.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that time pressure caused the lower math scores or state anxiety differences. The study had no comparison task without time pressure, and the autistic group also had lower accuracy on the screening calculation test.