Emotional self-efficacy moderates anxiety-related impairments in math performance in elementary school-age youth

Excessive anxiety is associated with impairments in academic achievement. However, not all children with elevated anxiety share an equal risk for academic difficulty. The current study investigated whether individual differences in emotional self-efficacy – confidence in one’s ability to regulate negative emotions – protected against anxiety-related impairments in a standardized math exam in a sample of elementary school youth (N = 139). Results indicated that anxiety negatively predicted math test performance only for children with low levels of emotional self-efficacy. Students reporting high levels of emotional self-efficacy did not show anxiety-related decrements on the test performance. Emotional self-efficacy appears useful in managing negative effects of anxiety.

► Examine if emotional self-efficacy (eSE) moderates anxiety-related math impairment.
► Anxiety impaired math performance in children with low eSE.
► Students with high eSE did not show anxiety-related math impairments.