Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41145747›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Academic anxiety and cognitive reflection in neurodivergence based on evidence from a large international sample.

Sheeza Mahak, Stephanie Malone, Mahmoud Elsherif, Christopher J Hand, Kinga Morsanyi

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In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Sheeza MahakCentre for Mathematical Cognition, Department of Mathematics Education, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK. s.mahak@lboro.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-2321-6121
Stephanie MaloneGriffith Institute for Educational Research, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Mahmoud Elsherif *School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0540-3998
Christopher J Hand *School of Education, University of Glasgow, St Andrew's Building, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow, G3 6NH, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1536-4005
Kinga Morsanyi *Centre for Mathematical Cognition, Department of Mathematics Education, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.

Funding

Economic and Social Research Council Research Centre grant ES/W002914/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Anxiety is commonly experienced by neurodivergent individuals participating in higher education, related to both cognitive performance and academic achievement. Whereas certain anxieties in neurodivergence (e.g., social and general anxiety) have received more attention, scant research has considered mathematics and statistics anxiety. In this study, 1383 university students (679 neurotypical, 704 neurodivergent individuals)-matched on age, gender, education level, and country of origin-completed measures assessing various types of academic-related anxiety, attitudes toward mathematics, self-efficacy, and cognitive reflection. Results showed that neurodivergent students exhibited higher anxiety levels across measures, including mathematics and statistics anxiety. However, only cognitive and somatic anxiety, and social anxiety were related to neurodivergent status after taking into account the effects of the other measures. Despite differing anxiety levels (which showed variability between different neurodivergences), neurodivergent and neurotypical students in general were equivalent in cognitive reflection scores, suggesting similar levels of analytic thinking skills, including reasoning about mathematical content. In both the neurotypical and neurodivergent groups, higher levels of cognitive reflection were associated with male gender, less fear of negative evaluation, and lower mathematics and creativity anxiety, replicating and extending previous work. Our findings have implications for supporting neurodivergent individuals in academic settings and other sectors.

Indexed as

AnxietyCognitionStudentsAdolescentAdultCognitive ReflectionFemaleHumansMaleMathematicsSelf EfficacyUniversitiesYoung AdultAcademic anxietyHigher educationMany labsMathematics anxietyNeurodiversityStatistics anxiety cognitive reflection

Identifiers

PMID41145747
PMCPMC12559732

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.