Fear of Reading: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of the Association between Reading Anxiety and Reading Achievement

Reading anxiety is the fear of reading and is theorized to be negatively associated with reading achievement. An inability to engage in reading due to either low reading achievement or high reading anxiety could be debilitating. Research on reading anxiety and its association with reading achievement has existed since the 1980s. However, this has been an area of rapidly increasing investigation in recent years. The goal of the present preregistered meta-analysis was to determine the strength of the association between reading anxiety and reading achievement. Through systematic screening of the published and unpublished literature, 64 studies were identified and included in the meta-analysis (totaling 180 effect sizes and 14,467 participants). The included studies were conducted in 14 countries and 11 languages. Analyses were performed using random effects models, accounting for dependent effect sizes via robust variance estimation. A moderate negative average weighted correlation was found between reading anxiety and reading achievement (r = -0.30). Significant heterogeneity across effect sizes was found (Q = 996, p < .001, I2 = 82). Learning disability status, gender, reading domain, and age were not significant moderators. The association between reading anxiety and reading achievement has implications for the fields of psychology and education, specifically in efforts to promote people’s reading achievement while maintaining their socioemotional well-being. Future research using experimental and longitudinal designs is needed to determine the direction of any causal influences between reading anxiety and reading achievement. This would improve suggestions that can be made on how to support people struggling with their reading anxiety and reading achievement.