Mathematics anxiety in an Israeli adult population: A Hebrew version of the Mathematics Anxiety Scale - UK
Maths anxiety is common and refers to feelings of anxiety, fear and other negative emotions and thoughts in individuals when confronted with mathematical tasks or numerical information. Self-report measures of maths anxiety have been created, but the majority are in English and are not culturally relevant to all countries. This study aimed to translate and validate an existing measure for future use in Hebrew-speaking adult populations. The Mathematics Anxiety Scale - UK was translated to Hebrew and adult participants completed it alongside a general anxiety measure and a further self-report measure of maths anxiety. Results from a final sample of 213 participants, indicated the shortened, Hebrew version of the scale is internally consistent and is suitable for use in future maths anxiety research in adult Israeli populations. Findings regarding sex differences in maths anxiety are also discussed.