Cognitive-behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood: a case report

ABSTRACT Math anxiety (MA) is a feeling of dread, tension and anxiety when dealing with math situations. Avoidance behavior prevents children from learning math, impairing their performance. Cognitive behavioral therapy is an approach with robust evidence of efficacy in treating anxiety disorders. T...

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Main Authors: Amanda Paola Lobo Guimarães, Vitor Geraldi Haase, Carmen Beatriz Neufeld
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associação Neurologia Cognitiva e do Comportamento 2021-07-01
Series:Dementia & Neuropsychologia
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-57642021000200286&tlng=en
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author Amanda Paola Lobo Guimarães
Vitor Geraldi Haase
Carmen Beatriz Neufeld
author_facet Amanda Paola Lobo Guimarães
Vitor Geraldi Haase
Carmen Beatriz Neufeld
author_sort Amanda Paola Lobo Guimarães
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Math anxiety (MA) is a feeling of dread, tension and anxiety when dealing with math situations. Avoidance behavior prevents children from learning math, impairing their performance. Cognitive behavioral therapy is an approach with robust evidence of efficacy in treating anxiety disorders. The Coping Cat, a protocol for treating anxiety disorders, inspired the MA intervention reported here. The participant was N. L., an 11-year-old female displaying math-related and math-unrelated anxiety symptoms. Outcome measures included arithmetic performance, and self-reports of general positive and negative affect and math-related self-perceived performance, attitude, unhappiness and anxiety. The therapeutic approach included psychoeducation, relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving training and graded exposure. After 12 individual intervention sessions, there was an improvement in negative and positive affect, as well as an improvement in self-perceived performance and a decrease in MA.
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spelling doaj.art-bdef4cabc378402e8bfa2e4ed1f9fbc12022-12-22T04:12:51ZengAssociação Neurologia Cognitiva e do ComportamentoDementia & Neuropsychologia1980-57642021-07-0115228629010.1590/1980-57642021dn15-020018Cognitive-behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood: a case reportAmanda Paola Lobo Guimarãeshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9990-6667Vitor Geraldi Haasehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1906-7702Carmen Beatriz Neufeldhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1097-2973ABSTRACT Math anxiety (MA) is a feeling of dread, tension and anxiety when dealing with math situations. Avoidance behavior prevents children from learning math, impairing their performance. Cognitive behavioral therapy is an approach with robust evidence of efficacy in treating anxiety disorders. The Coping Cat, a protocol for treating anxiety disorders, inspired the MA intervention reported here. The participant was N. L., an 11-year-old female displaying math-related and math-unrelated anxiety symptoms. Outcome measures included arithmetic performance, and self-reports of general positive and negative affect and math-related self-perceived performance, attitude, unhappiness and anxiety. The therapeutic approach included psychoeducation, relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving training and graded exposure. After 12 individual intervention sessions, there was an improvement in negative and positive affect, as well as an improvement in self-perceived performance and a decrease in MA.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-57642021000200286&tlng=encognitive behavioral therapymathematicsanxietychildschoollearning
spellingShingle Amanda Paola Lobo Guimarães
Vitor Geraldi Haase
Carmen Beatriz Neufeld
Cognitive-behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood: a case report
Dementia & Neuropsychologia
cognitive behavioral therapy
mathematics
anxiety
child
school
learning
title Cognitive-behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood: a case report
title_full Cognitive-behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood: a case report
title_fullStr Cognitive-behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood: a case report
title_full_unstemmed Cognitive-behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood: a case report
title_short Cognitive-behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood: a case report
title_sort cognitive behavioral intervention for math anxiety in childhood a case report
topic cognitive behavioral therapy
mathematics
anxiety
child
school
learning
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-57642021000200286&tlng=en
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