According to scientists (G. H. Bagandova, M. G. Mukhtarova, A. M. Parishioners, etc.), the importance of studying the tendency to anxiety in younger schoolchildren is manifested in the following factors:

– excessively high levels of anxiety have a negative impact on a child's health and personality development, impairing his academic performance at school;

– the manifestation of anxiety in a child at this age has a negative impact on his adaptation to school conditions;

– the process of studying the state of anxiety in children helps in understanding the peculiarities of children's development and behavior, helps to choose and adapt methods of teaching and upbringing [Bagandova, Mukhtarova 2020: 105].

A. M. Prikhozhan argues that the following factors may be the causes of a high level of anxiety in primary school children:

Family education. First of all, this concerns the relationship between mother and child. When a child is exposed to feelings of rejection from his mother, he feels a sense of anxiety due to the lack of ability to satisfy his needs for love, affection and protection. In the opposite situation, with excessive care, the child may also experience anxiety, as the mother protects him from non-existent dangers and «binds» him to himself.

Academic failure is manifested in the fact that a child is dependent on other people's opinions and is easily influenced by others, and understanding negative comments affects his well-being and self-esteem.

Relationship with the teacher. The authoritarian behavior of an adult can negatively affect a primary school student, as a result of which he begins to experience a high level of anxiety due to the high demands placed on him when performing any educational tasks.

Internal conflict. Anxiety arises from contradictions between the aspirations and desires of the child.

The discrepancy between the leading needs of age. In a younger student, this reason manifests itself in a new social role, in receiving high marks from adults and acceptance in a peer group [Sirenko 2025: 416].

According to S. L. Rubinstein, the causes of high anxiety in boys of primary school age are related to social factors, educational activities and family. A change in the social situation, according to the scientist, has a great influence on the manifestation of anxiety in primary school age, according to S. L. Rubinstein, an increase in anxiety occurs due to a sharp change in the social situation of development and the leading activity of the child [Gorina 2024: 134].

We conducted a study to identify the characteristics of anxiety in boys and girls of primary school age.

In the process of achieving this goal, we applied the following diagnostic research methods: «Diagnosis of school anxiety» (B. N. Phillips), «Psychodiagnostic methodology for the multidimensional assessment of childhood anxiety» (E. E. Romitsyna). This empirical study was conducted on the basis of a general education institution in the Belgorod region, and 30 1st grade students took part in it.

Let's analyze the results of an empirical study of school anxiety (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Severity of school anxiety factors in boys and girls (according to the Phillips method) (cf. b.)

The processing of the obtained research data showed such results as: in primary school age, boys are more anxious than girls. This is demonstrated by high indicators for the following anxiety factors, such as «general anxiety at school», «social stress», «unmet need for success», «fear of self-expression», «fear of testing knowledge», «fear of not meeting the expectations of others», «problems and fears in relationships with teachers».

According to the study, anxiety factors such as «general anxiety at school» and «unmet need for success» are considered more common among girls.

Fig. 2. Indicators of the severity of anxiety factors in boys and girls (according to the Romitsyn method) (cf. b.)

After blurting out the analysis of the results obtained, we came to the following conclusions: boys are most characterized by such disturbing factors as «anxiety associated with evaluating others», «anxiety associated with learning success», «anxiety arising in situations of self-expression», «anxiety arising in situations of knowledge testing», «anxiety related to the deterioration of mental activity». In the process of identifying the gender—specific manifestations of anxiety in primary school students, the Mann-Whitney criterion was applied (Table 1).

Table 1

Severity of anxiety factors in younger schoolchildren depending on gender (Mann—Whitney U-test)

Note: * p< p<0.001

Based on the results shown in Table 1, the following conclusion can be drawn: significant differences were identified in such indicators of anxiety as:

– general anxiety at school (U emf =34.0, p<0.001);

– experiencing social stress (U emf =39.0, p<0.001);

– frustration of the need to achieve success (U emf =24.0, p<0.001).

– fear of self-expression (U emf =35.0, p<0.001);

– fear of a knowledge test situation (U emf =31.5, p<0.001);

– fear of not meeting the expectations of others (U EMF =43.5, p<0.001);

– problems and fears in relationships with teachers (U emf =38.5, p<0.001).

As a result of the analysis of the data obtained, the following conclusion can be drawn: boys have the highest level of school anxiety than girls at primary school age. This is confirmed by high indicators on the following diagnostic scales: general anxiety at school, experiencing social stress, frustration of the need for success, fear of self-expression, fear of a knowledge test situation, fear of not meeting the expectations of others, problems and fears in relationships with teachers. Such research results may be related to the gender characteristics of the mental development of primary school children and the situations with which they associate their anxiety, as well as the nature of their experiences. The results of this study can become the basis for the development of psychological programs for the correction of anxiety in younger schoolchildren.

References:

1. Bagandova, G. H. A study of the relationship between anxiety and self-esteem of younger schoolchildren / G. H. Bagandova, M. G. Mukhtarova. — Text: direct // News of Dagestan State Pedagogical University. — 2020. — No. 3. — pp. 103–108. (In Russian). URL: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=48092188
2. Gorina, S. I. Features of the manifestation of anxiety and self-attitude of personality in younger schoolchildren / S. I. Gorina. — Text: direct // Sociocultural problems of modern man: collection of scientific articles. — Novosibirsk, 2024. — pp. 130–136. (In Russian). URL: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=79704460
3. Sirenko Features of the manifestation of anxiety in younger schoolchildren / Sirenko, S. R. — Text: direct // Psychological and pedagogical support of the educational process: collection of scientific articles. — Simferopol, 2025. — pp. 414–418. (In Russian). URL: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=80324808