The Interplay between Math and Reading Anxiety and Academic Skills in Primary School: A Longitudinal Study

The early school years are a critical period for acquiring essential competencies in mathematics and reading, with learning and anxiety being closely interconnected. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for educators supporting children’s academic development and mental health. The present study examined the development of children's mathematics and reading skills alongside their corresponding anxieties, focusing on how and if these domains influence each other over two time points in grades 2 and 3. A Finnish sample of 800 children (409 girls) was assessed in Grade 2 (N = 668) and Grade 3 (N = 711) using standardized tests for reading and arithmetic fluency, while self-evaluation questionnaires measured reading and math anxiety. The single-domain models for math and reading revealed a bidirectional relationship between math anxiety and arithmetic fluency and a unidirectional relationship between reading fluency and reading anxiety. The cross-domain models revealed only one significant positive cross-domain path from reading fluency to arithmetic fluency. The lack of other significant longitudinal cross-domain associations suggests early domain-specificity. Concurrently, higher math and reading anxiety were associated with lower fluency across domains, but this may be due to being assessed in the same situation. No gender differences were found in the longitudinal associations between skills and anxiety. Overall, the findings highlight that the associations between skills and anxieties become interconnected as early as Grades 2–3, both concurrently and longitudinally, suggesting the emergence of potential reciprocal cycles that may contribute to slower learning and heightened achievement-related anxieties.