More Than Just Anxiety: Math Attitudes as Key Driver of University Choice

Mathematics anxiety influences not only math performance but also career choices, often leading individuals to avoid math-intensive fields in higher education. While much research has been devoted to that relation, other factors, such as general and test anxiety, neuroticism, and math-related attitudes (e.g., math self-concept and self-efficacy) have received less attention, although they are related to (or potentially confounded with) math anxiety. In this study, we used Latent Profile Analysis to examine how different profiles of (math) anxiety and attitudes influence students' choice of study programs with varying levels of math content. Our sample consisted of 837 German university students enrolled in programs with low, medium, or high math intensity. We identified seven distinct profiles characterized by different combinations of anxiety and math attitudes. These profiles varied in their distribution across study programs and in the extent to which the presence of mathematics influenced program choice. Notably, differences in study choices were associated much more with math attitudes than with math anxiety. Furthermore, gender distribution varied across profiles, with women being overrepresented in profiles marked by lower math attitudes. These findings underscore the importance of considering math attitudes alongside math anxiety when examining students' academic and career choices.