Does Lower Anxiety in IT Classes lead to Higher achievement? Quantitative Evidence from STEM Education in Chinese Junior Middle School Students

In the context of increasing social competition and the lack of practicality in middle school curricula, student anxiety has become a growing concern. This study sampled 429junior middle school students from three districts in Chongqing, China, employing a quantitative research approach to explore the impact of information technology outcomes on students' anxiety levels and to analyze the moderating effects of gender and whether the student is an only child. The results indicate:(1) Anxiety levels consist of five dimensions: physical discomfort, negative emotions, stable mood, emergency response, and physiological discomfort. Among these, negative emotions, physical discomfort, and emergency response exhibit strong correlations, collectively reflecting the core characteristics of anxiety. (2) Overall anxiety levels (r = -0.282, p < 0.01) and all dimensions of anxiety are significantly negatively correlated with ITO, indicating that lower anxiety levels are associated with higher information technology performance. Among these dimensions, stable mood, emergency response, and physiological discomfort show significant correlations with ITO, while physical discomfort and negative emotions do not. (3) Gender significantly affects anxiety levels (t = -2.995, p = 0.003) with a moderate effect size (Cohen's d = 0.40179), showing that females have higher anxiety levels than males. However, being an only child does not significantly impact anxiety levels (p = 0.510 > 0.05). This study reveals the relationship between academic achievement and students' mental health in the context of STEM education, providing theoretical insights for educational practice and policy formulation.