Cross-Cultural Validation of the Short Math Anxiety Scale Among Chinese High School Students

Abstract

There is growing evidence that math anxiety is prevalent among Chinese high school students. The current study developed a Chinese version of the Short Math Anxiety Rating Scale (i.e., CH-sMARS) and examined its structural validity, construct validitycriterion validity, internal reliability, and 3-month-test-retest reliabilityWe recruited 696 and 329 high school students at Time 1 (April, 2020) and Time 2 (July, 2020), respectively, from two high schools in ChinaResults from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a 16-item, three-factor structure. The factors were consistent with those in the original Short Math Anxiety Rating Scale (sMARS) – Mathematics Test Anxiety, Numerical Task Anxiety, and Mathematics Course Anxiety. Nine items were removed from the sMARS due to low factor loading across all three factors. The 16-item scale demonstrated good reliability and validity across all tests. The CH-sMARS offers a useful tool for measuring the multidimensional nature of math anxiety among Chinese high school students. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.