Hate maths? It could be down to your DNA: Genes play a significant role in causing 'number anxiety' at a young age
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Why do some people relish the opportunity to solve maths problems, but others get anxious at the mere mention of numbers and letters?
The answer could be genetic, according to researchers.
A study from Ohio State University found that genes can cause a greater 'maths anxiety' in children who were already struggling in the subject.
The cause of maths anxiety in children could partially be due to their genes, researchers claim (stock image shown). The study by Ohio State University found a genetic predisposition could exacerbate or reduce the risk of doing poorly in maths, meaning children who were already struggling would do even worse
To examine this theory, researchers examined how twins differ on measures of maths anxiety.
It provides a revised view on why some children may develop a fear of maths that makes it more difficult for them to solve problems and succeed in school.
ARE BOYS WORSE THAN GIRLS AT SCHOOL?
In the battle of the sexes, boys have always been thought to perform better in subjects like maths and science.
But a review of 308 studies involving more than 1.1 million children has now completely overturned this long-held stereotype.
The study, which looked at data from 1914 to 2011, suggests that girls do better in school than boys - and have been doing so for at least 100 years.
The research also claims that girls do better at all ages, in all subjects and all over the world.
According to the data, compiled by the University of New Brunswick in Canada, girls have been outperforming boys throughout their academic careers, from infant school to secondary school.
The differences are the biggest in language and the smallest in maths, but even in these subjects girls get better grades on average, the researchers said.
But although a genetic predisposition was important, it only accounted for about 40 per cent of the problem.
Much of the rest was explained by the different environments in the school, in the home and in social circles.
'Genetic factors may exacerbate or reduce the risk of doing poorly at maths,' said the study's principal investigator, Professor Stephen Petrill.
'If you have these genetic risk factors for maths anxiety and then you have negative experiences in maths classes, it may make learning that much harder.
'It is something we need to account for when we're considering interventions for those who need help in maths.'
The study included 216 identical twins and 298 same-sex fraternal twins who participated in the Western Reserve Reading and Maths Projects, an ongoing long-term study of twins in Ohio.
Children entered the project in kindergarten or first grade, and were assessed during a maximum of eight home visits.
This latest study included data from the last two home visits, when the twins were between about nine and 15 years old.
All of the twins completed assessments of maths anxiety, general anxiety, maths problem solving and reading comprehension.
In the study, over 500 twins completed assessments of maths anxiety and general anxiety, with the results suggesting genes played a significant factor. The researchers point out that maths anxiety is unique (stock image shown), as children do not get the same anxiety from other subjects such as learning to read
The researchers used statistical tools to see how these various measures of anxiety, maths and reading ability were related between fraternal twins and between identical twins.
This allowed them to make conclusions about how differences in maths anxiety could be explained by genetic factors, and how much could be explained by differences in the environments the twins encountered elsewhere.
Writing in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Professor Petrill added: 'It is important to study anxiety as it applies to how well children learn maths.
'You say the word "maths" and some people actually cringe. It is not like learning how to read, in which people don't normally have any general anxiety unless they have some kind of difficulty.
'Maths anxiety is related to both the cognitive side and the affective side of general anxiety.
'This may result in a downward spiraling process in which these genetic risks to anxiety and poor maths performance work with environmental influences to lead to maths anxiety. This may leads to further problems in maths performance, which exacerbates the maths anxiety symptoms.
'If we can get a better idea of what provokes this anxiety response, we may be able to develop a better intervention for those with math anxiety.
'Before this study, researchers didn't have a clear idea of how important the genetic component of math anxiety is in children and how it originates.
'Is it because of a lack of actual math skills, such as problem solving and ability to do calculations, or is it related to a person's predisposition to anxiety?'
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