The interplay of mathematics anxiety, academic grit and learning engagement: A random-intercept cross-lagged panel analysis

Mathematics anxiety, academic grit, and learning engagement are central to children's mathematics learning, yet their longitudinal interplay remains insufficiently understood. This study examined dynamic associations among these constructs by following 3354 Chinese third- to fifth-grade students across three waves: December 2024, June 2025, and December 2025. To capture dimension-specific processes, six random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were estimated by crossing two dimensions of mathematics anxiety (learning and evaluation) with three dimensions of learning engagement (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional). Results indicated that within-person increases in mathematics learning and evaluation anxiety were prospectively associated with decreases in subsequent academic grit and learning engagement across dimensions. Within-person increases in behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement generally predicted lower subsequent mathematics anxiety and higher academic grit. Academic grit showed reciprocal associations with mathematics anxiety and indirectly linked mathematics anxiety to subsequent behavioral engagement; however, corresponding indirect effects involving cognitive and emotional engagement were less consistent. Educational relevance and implications statement This study followed Chinese upper elementary school children over one year to understand how mathematics anxiety, academic grit, and mathematics learning engagement develop together. The findings showed that when children experienced higher levels of mathematics anxiety, whether during learning or evaluation, they tended to show lower subsequent academic grit and lower behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in mathematics. In turn, greater engagement was followed by greater academic grit and lower mathematics anxiety. Moreover, behavioral, cognitive and emotional learning engagement were indirectly associated with lower subsequent mathematics evaluation anxiety through academic grit. These findings suggest that, in mathematics education, encouraging children to “try harder” or exert greater behavioral effort in mathematics is valuable but may not be sufficient. Teachers should also carefully design instructional materials and learning activities that foster children's emotional and cognitive engagement in mathematics. Such efforts may support the development of academic grit and potentially contribute to reducing mathematics anxiety, particularly in evaluation situations.