數學差，怪“父母數學焦慮”？

If the thought of a math test makes you break out in a cold sweat, Mom or Dad may be partly to blame.

如果想到數學測驗會讓你出一身冷汗，你的爸媽可能要承擔些責任。

The researchers believe the link between parents’math anxiety and children’s math performance stems more from math attitudes than genetics.

研究者們認為，父母的“數學焦慮”對子女數學成績的影響，更多地是由于（畏懼數學的）態度在起作用，而非遺傳作用。

“Although it is possible that there is a genetic component to math anxiety,” the researchers wrote, “the fact that parents’ math anxiety negatively affected children only when they frequently helped them with math homework points to the need for interventions focused on both decreasing parents’ math anxiety and scaffolding their skills in homework help.”

“盡管‘數學焦慮’可能在一定程度上受到遺傳因素的影響，”研究者們寫道，“然而事實上，我們的研究發現，只有當父母頻繁地輔導子女數學功課時，才會把自身的‘數學焦慮’傳染到子女身上。因此不僅應該關注如何降低‘父母的數學焦慮’，還應該關注如何提高父母輔導功課的技巧。”

These tools might include math books, computer and traditional board games, or Internet apps that “allow parents to interact with their children around math in positive ways,” the researchers wrote.

研究者們提出了一些建議，比如借助數學參考書、電腦和桌面游戲、以及網絡應用，父母可以更積極地與子女互動，以利于數學學習。

（中國日報網英語點津? Julie 編輯）