Six out of every ten university students are afraid of mathematics to the point where it deters them from studying technical subjects, according to new research. The proportion of students who "show symptoms of anxiety" regarding maths is also significantly higher among females than males.

In a survey of 885 first-year undergraduates reading 23 different subjects at the University of Granada, 47 per cent of men showed symptoms "such as tension, nervousness, concern, worry, edginess, impatience, confusion, fear and mental block" when asked to tackle mathematical tasks. Among women, 62 per cent showed a similar response.

According to the University of Granada, the allied mathematicians found that:

"An indirect effect of mathematical anxiety is that of avoiding studies related to Mathematics, which later conditions the type of degree they can choose". In other words, many students choose degrees different to those they preferred – and in which they would be really good in many cases – in order to avoid studying subjects connected with Mathematics.

The University says that the work has been published in the journals Indivisa: Boletín de Estudios e Investigación, Investigación en Educación Matemática and Revista de Educación de la Universidad de Granada. ®

Related stories

• Microsoft invests $1m in IT girls (15 July 2009)
• US journo school mandates iPhone, iPod touch (11 May 2009)
• Updated Science-boosting thickie questionnaire backfires (12 March 2009)
• Analysis Gov: High-tech engineering (car making) will save Blighty (11 March 2009)
• Bloodhound supercar is 'recession beater', says promoter (4 March 2009)
• Score 18%, pass a science exam (11 February 2009)
• Robot set to replace science teachers (15 January 2009)
• Webcast quango: One-third of UK teachers are creationists (7 November 2008)