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

## TL;DR

Math attitudes, not just anxiety, strongly influence university students' choices of math-intensive programs.

## Contribution

This study identifies seven distinct student profiles based on math anxiety and attitudes, showing their impact on academic choices.

## Key findings

- Seven distinct profiles of math anxiety and attitudes were identified among university students.
- Math attitudes were more strongly associated with study program choices than math anxiety.
- Women were overrepresented in profiles with lower math attitudes.

## Abstract

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.

Mathematics anxiety affects both performance and career choices, yet factors like general anxiety, neuroticism, and math‐related attitudes are less studied. Using latent profile analysis, we identified seven student profiles based on math anxiety and attitudes. These profiles differed in how they were distributed across study programs. Our findings highlight the need to consider math attitudes along with math anxiety when exploring academic pathways and career decision‐making among students.