Resilience Mechanisms in Arithmetic: Identification of Promotive and Protective Factors

This study examines the potential promotive (beneficial for all) and protective (stronger positive effects for children with weaker arithmetic skills in Grade 1) effects of cognitive skills, motivation, and parental factors on arithmetic skills in Grade 6 in a large Finnish sample (n=2,518). We followed a dimensional approach without using cut-offs. After controlling for Grade 1 arithmetic skills, eight promotive factors were identified: better skills in number counting, spatial relations, RAN, and nonverbal reasoning, higher self-concept in math, higher task value for math, greater persistence in homework, and no parental math difficulties. Furthermore, three protective factors were identified: number concepts, oral language, and gender. Parental support in math homework also showed a significant interaction effect, but it was not consistent with the classic protective factor model. The study offers a resilience framework for arithmetic research and draws attention to the promotive and protective factors that support arithmetic development.