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Math anxiety refers to a psychological state characterized by feelings of tension, apprehension, or fear in response to situations that require mathematical reasoning or skills (Richardson & Suinn, 1972). One of the most pervasive negative outcomes associated with maths anxiety is the tendency to avoid maths (Ashcraft, 2002). Individuals experiencing maths anxiety seem to be inclined to avoid activities that could enhance their maths skills, such as doing maths homework, participating in maths class, and taking extras maths courses (Ramirez et al., 2018). Consequently, their performance in mathematics can deteriorate, further increasing their levels of maths anxiety and perpetuating a vicious cycle. In the long term, maths anxiety can limit academic and career opportunities that require proficiency in mathematics (Ahmed, 2018; Ashcraft, 2002; Hembre, 1990). One can argue that a potential mechanism employed by maths-anxious individuals to escape or avoid negative feelings triggered by maths is procrastination. Procrastination is a delay in beginning or completing an “intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay” (Steel, 2007, p. 66). In favour of this hypothesis, Yu et al. (2021) examined the indirect effects of grit (i.e., perseverance) and procrastination on the association between maths anxiety and maths achievement in 11th-grade Chinese students. Results indicated an indirect effect of maths anxiety on maths achievement through grit and procrastination in serial, with grit as affecting procrastination, which in turn influences maths achievement (i.e., maths anxiety → grit → procrastination → maths achievement). Furthermore, the overall indirect effect of procrastination alone was also significant (i.e., maths anxiety → procrastination → maths achievement). This finding indicates that maths anxiety could potentially diminish students’ perseverance in learning maths, leading to increased tendencies for procrastination, reduced engagement in maths-related activities, and avoidance of challenging maths tasks. Consequently, these behaviours may contribute to poorer academic performance in maths. In addition to that, maths anxiety is also linked to negative attitudes towards maths. Although attitudes towards maths can be considered an umbrella term that may include different affective factors related to maths, it is widely accepted that this construct encompasses factors such as enjoyment of maths, self-assessment of maths competence, and expectations regarding one’s ability to learn and improve their maths skills (Dowker, 2021). Ashcraft and Ridley (2005) summarized findings from prior meta-analysis studies on the relationship between maths anxiety and attitudes towards maths. They observed moderate to high negative correlations between maths anxiety and both enjoyment of maths (r=-.47) and self-confidence in math (r=-.65) among undergraduate students. This indicates that higher levels of maths anxiety are associated with decreased enjoyment of maths and reduced self-confidence in math. Drawing upon the evidence presented above, it is unsurprising that maths anxiety could significantly impact an individual’s career choice. Therefore, the primary goal of the present study is to explore potential associations between maths anxiety and the career choice made by undergraduate students. We will examine how maths anxiety is associated with undergraduate students’ maths avoidance, as measured by participants' agreement on whether their major choice was influenced by maths or related subjects as a requirement, and attitudes towards maths, as measured by participants’ enjoyment of maths and their self-perceived maths abilities. We will also examine how including an interaction term between career choice, coded as STEM and non-STEM, and maths anxiety affects the models. Furthermore, a secondary goal of the current study is to investigate how procrastination influences the association between maths anxiety and maths performance.

Maths anxiety refers to the feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that arises when one is faced with a math-related task. Maths anxiety can negatively impact performance in mathematical tasks, leading to avoidance behaviours and reduced mathematical competence. One interesting aspect of maths anxiety is that it can be socially transmitted by adults to children. Research has shown that teachers' math anxiety can influence their students' math performance and attitudes towards math. When teachers experience high levels of math anxiety, they may transmit their negative attitudes towards math to their students, which can lead to lower math achievement and increased math anxiety among children. It is particularly concerning because students pursuing a major in early childhood and elementary education exhibit some of the highest levels of math anxiety in college. As a result, the adults who will formally introduce math to children may experience high levels of anxiety. In summary, this evidence highlights the need for better understanding of teachers’ maths anxiety. In the current study, we are interested to investigate how teachers’ anxiety about teaching maths is associated with their mental health and well-being. Furthermore, we aim to investigate how teachers’ anxiety about teaching influences their teaching practices.

Math anxiety is defined as a feeling of tension and apprehension that interferes with math performance ability, the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations. Previous studies suggest that primary/elementary teachers report higher levels of math anxiety. As a result, exposure to negative attitudes toward mathematics by teachers, which are children’s role models, contributes to children’s math anxiety. Our aim is to investigate whether math anxiety is associated with beliefs about math and attitudes towards math in primary/elementary teachers.

Previous studies have explored the psychological impact of muscular dystrophy and similar neuromuscular disorders (NMD)rather than the psychological needs. This is best summarised by a recent meta-analysis (Pascaul-Morena et al., 2022) which identified 14 studies exploring depression, 9 studies exploring anxiety and 8 studies exploring obsessive compulsive disorder in individuals with Duchenne MD and Becker MD. However, the authors cautioned that children and adolescents were overrepresented and that sample sizes were limited. The present study seeks to address these limitations by conducting a short online anonymous cross-sectional survey with adults. Online surveys often have higher numbers than other data collection possibly partially due to reduced participant burden. Quality of life has been identified as a domain of interest in individuals living with a neuromuscular disorder (Graham et al., 2011), however few previous studies have used a quality of life measure validated with individuals with a neuromuscular disorder such as muscular dystrophy (Bann et al. 2015; Powell et al., 2020). This research will also include measures of social support and stigma which are less often explored with individuals with a NMD. Finally, no studies have been conducted with adults in the Irish population. The main aim of this research is to explore the psychosocial needs including quality of life, social support, coping styles, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms of individuals living with a NMD. A secondary aim is to explore the role of stigma in the lives of individuals living with a NMD. The objective is to obtain data directly from individuals living with a NMD using a survey to identify their psychosocial needs and experience of stigma.

This article aims to help readers to understand the importance of mitigating maths anxiety in home and school environments and to drive the attention of the policymakers to the fact that maths anxiety prevalence is shaped by gender and socioeconomic status, among other factors. Because maths anxiety can harm students’ performance, career choices and teachers’ well-being and instruction skills, it must be addressed for the benefit of society and individuals. The article describes maths anxiety and its impact on maths education, good practices in the school environment to mitigate it and showcases a continuous professional development "Teachers’ Maths Anxiety classroom management" to support teachers to deal with both maths anxiety in students and their anxiety about teaching maths. The programme was elaborated by Dr Flavia H. Santos, under the Arithmós Project, funded by the Irish Research Council in collaboration with Technological University Dublin.

Invited lecture at the University College London, UCL Institute of Education, Mathematical Cognition Group Seminar Series on 6th July 2022, This conferences includes findings of two studies presented at the MCLS2022, the Mathematical Cognition Learning Society meeting at Antwerp - Belgium, in two independent symposia. The first study had two aims, to estimate the prevalence of Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) in a developing country contrasting z-scores and percentiles in numerical cognition tasks and to investigate the developmental framework of numerical cognition, based on two theoretical models (Triple Code and Four Steps Model) using a cognitive battery for the diagnosis of DD. This research is published at DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050653. The second study concerns to a game-based learning tool developed to support mathematical learning in children. This study aimed to examine whether children’s in-program progress (i.e., the number of content areas, exercises, and percentage correct responses) in Calcularis® could predict children’s overall numerical cognition performance and per composite scores on the light of two theoretical models (Four Steps Model and Numeracy Component Model). This researcher is submitted and under review. (Registration DOI https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5YRZM).

Invited lecture at the University College London, UCL The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health for the Clinical and Applied Paediatric Neuropsychology MSc Programme 2022, on 12nd January 2022

Tento protokol nastiňuje výzkum, který zkoumá vnímání dopadu COVID-19 na osoby s mentálním a vývojovým postižením a jejich pečovatele ze strany rodinných příslušníků a placených zaměstnanců. Důkazy naznačují, že lidé s mentálním a vývojovým postižením zažívají rozdíly v přístupu ke zdravotní péči a využívání. Tento rozdíl byl patrný na počátku pandemie, kdy se objevily diskuse o možném vyloučení této populace z kritické péče. Metody: anonymní online průzkum bude proveden s pečovateli, jak rodinnými příslušníky, tak placeným personálem, aby prozkoumal jejich vnímání dopadu COVID-19 z hlediska demografie, životních podmínek, přístupu ke službám, sociálního distancování a péče o životní pohodu. Průzkum bude vypracován výzkumným týmem, z nichž mnozí jsou odborníky na mentální postižení ve svých vlastních zemích. Pomocí dvojího překladu náš tým přeloží průzkum pro distribuci v 18 zemích po celém světě pro mezinárodní srovnání. Výzkumný tým má rozsáhlé osobní a profesionální kontakty a bude průzkum široce propagovat na sociálních sítích s podporou místních poskytovatelů sociálních služeb pro osoby se zdravotním postižením a organizací zdravotně postižených. Budou provedeny statistické popisné a srovnávací analýzy. Etické schválení pro tuto studii získala Etická komise pro lidský výzkum (HS-20-28-Linehan) na University College Dublin. Diseminace výsledků: Výsledky studie budou připraveny v řadě formátů, aby vyhovovaly potřebám různých cílových skupin. Výstupy budou zahrnovat akademické práce, získané poznatky, pokyny pro praxi, zprávy, infografiku a video. Tyto výstupy budou zaměřeny na rodiny, management poskytovatelů sociálních služeb v oblasti zdravotního postižení, tvůrce politik na vnitrostátní úrovni, orgány pro kvalitu a poskytování zdravotní péče, vnitrostátní pandemické organizace a mezinárodní orgány. This protocol outlines research to explore family members’ and paid staff’s perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers. Evidence suggests that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience disparities in healthcare access and utilisation. This disparity was evident early in the pandemic when discussions arose regarding the potential exclusion of this population to critical care. Methods : An anonymous online survey will be conducted with caregivers, both family members and paid staff, to explore their perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 in terms of demographics, living arrangements, access to services, social distancing, and carer wellbeing. The survey will be developed by the research team, many of whom are experts in intellectual disability within their own jurisdictions. Using back-translation our team will translate the survey for distribution in 18 countries worldwide for international comparison. The survey team have extensive personal and professional networks and will promote the survey widely on social media with the support of local disability and advocacy agencies. Statistical descriptive and comparative analyses will be conducted. Ethical approval has been obtained for this study from University College Dublin’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HS-20-28-Linehan). Dissemination : Study findings will be prepared in a number of formats in order to meet the needs of different audiences. Outputs will include academic papers, lessons learned paper, practice guidelines, reports, infographics and video content. These outputs will be directed to families, frontline and management delivering disability services, national-level policy makers, healthcare quality and delivery authorities, national pandemic organisations and international bodies.

En el presente estudio se presenta la adaptación al idioma Es- pañol Europeo de la Evaluación Automatizada de la Memoria Operativa, habiéndose tenido en cuenta la necesidad de calibración para cuestiones de acento y lingüística que no son compatibles con la versión disponible. Con este propósito, el material verbal fue seleccionado cuidadosa y apropiada- mente, teniendo en cuenta las especificidades del Español Europeo y con el fin de controlar los posibles efectos de los factores psicolingüísticos, tales como la longitud de las palabras o la frecuencia léxica, y aspectos técnicos, como la velocidad de presentación de los estímulos y la calidad de sonido también fueron controlados. Una muestra exploratoria de 81 niños de 7 a 9 años de edad se evaluó para confirmar que la adaptación es adecuada para su empleo posterior. Además las puntuaciones obtenidas se contrastaron con las de niños argentinos. Los datos mostraron una validez adecuada y una puntuación fiable, lo que permite considerar a esta versión como un instrumento útil para fines de investigación, y su empleo en futuros estu- dios debería incentivar la recopilación de datos normativos para españoles. The current study presents the adaptation of Automated Work- ing Memory Assessment into European Spanish, considering the need of calibration for accent and linguistic issues not supported by the version available. For this purpose, verbal material was carefully and properly se- lected, considering specificities of the European Spanish, in order to con- trol possible effects of psycholinguistic factors, such as word length or lex- ical frequency, and technical aspects such as stimuli presentation speed and sound quality were also tuned. An exploratory sample of 81 children from 7- to 9-year-old was assessed to confirm that the adaptation is suitable for further use, besides, their scores were contrasted with the Argentinean children. The data showed proper validity and reliability scores, which characterize this version as a useful instrument for research purposes, and its usage in further studies should be encourage to gather normative data for Spaniards.

Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) signifies a failure in representing quantities, which impairs the performance of basic math operations and schooling achievement during childhood. The lack of specificity in assessment measures and respective cut-offs are the most challenging factors to identify children with DD, particularly in disadvantaged educational contexts. This research is focused on a numerical cognition battery for children, designed to diagnose DD through 12 subtests. The aims of the present study were twofold: to examine the prevalence of DD in a country with generally low educational attainment, by comparing z-scores and percentiles, and to test three neurodevelopmental models of numerical cognition based on performance in this battery. Participants were 304 Brazilian school children aged 7–12 years of both sexes (143 girls), assessed by the Zareki-R. Performances on subtests and the total score increase with age without gender differences. The prevalence of DD was 4.6% using the fifth percentile and increased to 7.4% via z-score (in total 22 out of 304 children were diagnosed with DD). We suggest that a minus 1.5 standard deviation in the total score of the Zareki-R is a useful criterion in the clinical or educational context. Nevertheless, a percentile ≤ 5 seems more suitable for research purposes, especially in developing countries because the socioeconomic environment or/and educational background are strong confounder factors to diagnosis. The four-factor structure, based on von Aster and Shalev’s model of numerical cognition (Number Sense, Number Comprehension, Number Production and Calculation), was the best model, with significant correlations ranging from 0.89 to 0.97 at the 0.001 level.

In a population of young adults, this study analyzes possible linear relations of resilience and positivity to coping strategies and engagement-burnout. The aim was to establish a model with linear, associative, and predictive relations, to identify needs and make proposals for therapeutic intervention in different student profiles. A population of 1,126 undergraduate students with different student profiles gave their informed, written consent, and completed validated questionnaires (CD-RISC Scale; Positivity; Coping Strategies of Stress; Engagement, and Burnout). An ex post-facto design involved bivariate association analyses, multiple regression and structural predictions. The results offered evidence of associations and predictive relationships between resilience factors, positivity, coping strategies and engagement-burnout. The factors of resilience and positivity had significant differential associations (positive and negative) with factors of coping strategies. Their negative relationship to burnout factors, and positive relation to engagement factors, is especially important. Results of structural analysis showed an acceptable model of relationships between variables. We conclude with practical implications for therapeutic intervention: (1) the proactive factors of resilience reflect a perception of self-efficacy and the ability to change adaptively; (2) the reactive factors of resilience are usually associated with withstanding experiences of change, uncertainty or trauma.