Julia A. Marakshina

Background . Universal and student-specific stressors can lead to the development of anxiety and depression. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) has proven effective in various populations. However, measuring anxiety, depression, and stress in the student population may have its own peculiarities, which create a need for a tailored tool to assess anxiety and depression levels among young people studying in higher education institutions. The aim . Assessment of the psychometric properties, including the factor structure, reliability, and external validity of the HADS in Russian-speaking students. Materials and methods . The sample consisted of 891 students, including 198 males (22 %) and 693 females (78 %), aged 16 to 37 years (mean age is 19.8, median age – 19.0, SD = 2.13). Results . The Cronbach’s alpha for the “Anxiety” subscale was 0.73, for the “Depression” subscale it was 0.62, and for the overall questionnaire it was 0.79. Principal Component Analysis confirmed the alignment of the questionnaire’s structure with the original two-factor model proposed by the authors. Both the full model and a reduced model (excluding item 6) derived from confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated similar model fit indices. Based on the comparison of principal component and confirmatory analyses, it was decided to exclude item 6 from the questionnaire while retaining item 11 in the second factor. Conclusions . The analysis concluded that the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale exhibits satisfactory psychometric properties and can be used for screening emotional distress among students.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) inventory among students. The data was collected via an online platform from Russian universities involving first–fourth-year students (N = 670). The participants completed the Brief COPE inventory (32 items). Of these, 529 (79%) were female, and 141 (21%) were male. The age range was 18 to 29 years. For this study, the inventory was modified, and its reliability (internal consistency) and validity (internal, external) were assessed. Participants were asked also to complete three additional tests: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ-10). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) showed that the data fit the expected six-factor structure after a reduction of seven items with low factor loadings from the inventory structure. The internal consistency was good (Cronbach’s α in the range of 0.65–0.91). External validity demonstrated weak but significant indicators: all correlations between most scales of the brief COPE inventory and the scores of other tests ranged from 0.067 to 0.364). The Brief COPE, comprising 25 items, is a new tool for assessing the coping strategies of Russian students. It is a reliable, valid, accurate, and acceptable measure of coping strategies that can be used in large-scale studies in Russia. Additionally, the developed instrument may be potentially useful for application in educational and psychological screening, which opens up further opportunities for its practical implementation.

Mathematical anxiety (MA) negatively affects all aspects of activities related to manipulating numbers, both in education and in everyday life. MA is negatively associated with mathematical self-efficacy, subjective value of mathematics, attitude, and interest towards mathematics. Individuals with pronounced MA have a lower need for cognitive load and reflective thinking. Among the predictors of MA, cognitive, personality, and social aspects can be identified. The question of the brain mechanisms of MA remains relevant. The review provides an analysis of studies on the neurophysiological correlates of mathematical anxiety using modern psychophysiological methods: electroencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The results of studies using these methods are inconsistent. When studying MA, attention is paid to brain structures associated with the processing of both emotional information and cognitive processes. The analysis of the literature has shown that when implementing corrective measures, it is important to consider the lack of a unified theoretical approach, which raises questions about the causes of MA.

Global socio-economic crises, new pandemics, climate disasters, and other large-scale factors create an unfavorable background for humanity, often involving painful processes that lead to significant changes in personality and the social situation of development. Students, as they navigate personal and professional development during their university education, determine their life prospects and societal roles for many years to come. A normative age crisis, combined with everyday and global stresses, can lead to adverse consequences such as high anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, other emotional and behavioral problems, and social maladjustment. The issue of coping strategies that help students effectively manage stress becomes increasingly relevant. The review included 75 full-text Russian and English papers, mainly from 2019–2024, sourced from bibliographic databases such as Elibrary, Google Scholar, and PubMed. The analysis included articles where the participants were aged 17–25, primarily students. The analysis of theoretical and empirical studies allowed us to systematize the types of students' stressors and the specifics of coping strategies. It is important to distinguish whether coping is a response to a specific stressor (situational coping) or if its use is related to an individual's personality traits (dispositional coping). Additionally, it is informative to consider socio-demographic characteristics such as the gender of participants, year, and field of education, which help to identify additional factors associated with the use of different coping strategies. The choice of effective or ineffective coping strategies is characterized by different relationships between stress, existing emotional problems (such as anxiety and depression), and mental toughness (adaptive resource). Thus, a scientifically based approach to effective coping strategies for students, with detailed consideration of perceived stress, mental toughness, the level of emotional problems, and demographic factors, can be considered the most relevant theoretical model.

Background. Math anxiety is a state of fear and anxiety that an individual experiences when interacting with mathematical problems. Currently, there is a lack of questionnaires to measure mathematical anxiety for Russian-speaking schoolchildren.The aim. The study analyzed the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS).Materials and methods. The study involved 1,198 schoolchildren in grades 10–11. The psychometric properties of the AMAS were analyzed.Results. AMAS demonstrated bifactor structure: subscales of Learning Math Anxiety (LMA) and Math Evaluation Anxiety (MEA) and general scale of Math Anxiety. The bifactor model demonstrated the best fit indices. Analysis confirmed reliable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas for LMA = 0.82, MEA = 0.75, total AMAS = 0.95). External validity of AMAS has been confirmed. LMA showed lower scores than MEA. The distribution of scores on the general AMAS scale was shifted to low values. Girls showed higher scores on all scales of the questionnaire. The analysis also confirmed measurement invariance for both boys and girls.Conclusion. Based on the analysis, we can conclude that the AMAS is a valid tool for assessing mathematical anxiety in high school students.

The study of the symbolic quantity representation is currently an important topic in modern neuroscience. This area is related to the problems of teaching mathematics, as well as the mechanisms of symbolic processing of language systems in humans, which makes it relevant in the field of education and pedagogy. The purpose of the study was to analyze the state of the art in neurophysiological mechanisms of the symbolic quantity representation using different psychophysiological methods. The article presents the main issues relevant to modern psychophysiological studies of number sense. The main neuroimaging methods used in these studies, their advantages and disadvantages are considered. The review describes various approaches to the study of the symbolic quantity representation. The problems of number representation development, the relationship between the non-symbolic number sense and the symbolic quantity representation from the point of view of the triple code model, mapping, effect of numerical distance are considered. A critique of the triple code model and the idea of the symbolic representation development in the brain, particularly the transition from the right areas of the brain to the left hemisphere are presented. The hypothesis of a frontoparietal shift of the symbolic quantity representation is described, as well as the relationship between symbolic representations of quantity and exact calculations. The currently available data on the psychophysiological mechanisms of the symbolic number sense are analyzed separately. The analysis showed that the symbolic quantity representation is provided by a brain system that includes different structures. The review outlines future directions for possible research.

The nonsymbolic comparison task is used to investigate the precision of the Approximate Number Sense, the ability to process discrete numerosity without counting and symbols. There is an ongoing debate regarding the extent to which the ANS is influenced by the processing of non-numerical visual cues. To address this question, we assessed the congruency effect in a nonsymbolic comparison task, examining its variability across different stimulus presentation formats and numerical proportions. Additionally, we examined the variability of the numerical ratio effect with the format and congruency. Utilizing generalized linear mixed-effects models with a sample of 290 students (89% female, mean age 19.33 years), we estimated the congruency effect and numerical ratio effect for separated and intermixed formats of stimulus presentation, and for small and large numerical proportions. The findings indicated that the congruency effect increased in large numerical proportion conditions, but this pattern was observed only in the separated format. In the intermixed format, the congruency effect was insignificant for both types of numerical proportion. Notably, the numerical ratio effect varied for congruent and incongruent trials in different formats. The results may suggest that the processing of visual non-numerical parameters may be crucial when numerosity processing becomes noisier, specifically when numerical proportion becomes larger. The implications of these findings for refining the ANS theory are discussed.

The representation format of math problems can manifest dissimilarly in people with varying levels of math performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the neurocognitive underpinnings of two-digit exact calculation tasks in different formats: numerical and word. Fifty-three students were divided into groups with high and low levels of math performance based on their ability to solve math problems. They were asked to calculate addition problems with two-digit numbers and to read math problems that did not require calculations. Brain activation was recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). General linear model (GLM) analysis revealed that reading math problems without calculation led to increased activation in the inferior temporal and fusiform gyri in a group of high-level performers, while a group of low-level performers demonstrated increased activation in Broca’s area and the inferior frontal gyrus in the same experimental condition, as well as during solving arithmetic problems in a word format of the exact calculation task. Analysis after bootstrapping revealed similar activation patterns in both groups. Both domain-specific and domain-general regions of the frontal and parietal brain areas were involved in the calculations. Right and left hemisphere activation was found both in low and high math performers. Comparing experimental conditions with resting state revealed significant activation in Broca’s area in all conditions in a group of high-level performers and in a word format of arithmetic problems in a group of low-level performers. Thus, the observed brain patterns suggest the involvement of complex sentence comprehension, especially in high-performing students. These results could be used in future to improve educational practice for students with varying levels of math competence.

Введение. В исследовательской литературе обсуждается вопрос о наличии общей системы оценки количества и величин. Одним из доказательств наличия общей системы является эффект числовой пропорции, проявляющийся в увеличении времени ответа и снижении точности при возрастании числовой пропорции между сравниваемыми множествами или величинами, обнаруживаемый в заданиях на сравнение. Текущее исследование направлено на исследование взаимосвязей между системами оценки величин и оценки количества с помощью оценки эффектов числовой пропорции для разного типа тестов и форматов предъявления стимулов в тесте на сравнение количества. Методы. Выборку составили 83 студента (из них 20% мужчин, средний возраст 20,34 года). Участники исследования выполняли задания на несимволическое сравнение, сравнение площадей сложных фигур, сравнение количества и числа. В тесте на несимволическое сравнение использовано два формата предъявления стимулов: раздельный/гомогенный и смешанный/гетерогенный. Для каждого теста рассчитана точность и эффект пропорции. Результаты. Эффект пропорции был значим в тестах на несимволическое сравнение (в обоих форматах) и в тесте на оценку количества, но незначим в тесте на сравнение величин. Эффекты пропорции для разных тестов не коррелируют друг с другом. Также показано, что точность оценки величин коррелирует с результатами теста на несимволическое сравнение, причем эта связь была выше для смешанного/гетерогенного формата. Обсуждение результатов. Впервые получены данные о том, что связь между системами оценки величин и количества может варьироваться в разных условиях предъявления стимулов, что позволяет уточнить существующие теоретические модели работы систем оценки количества без использования символов. Полученные результаты не могут быть полностью объяснены теорией о единой системе оценки количества и величин. Однако показано, что система оценки величин также вовлечена в оценку количества.