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Can’t do math? Blame your parents

Posted at 10:00 PM, Mar 19, 2014
and last updated 2014-03-19 22:00:24-04

Do you get nervous at just the sight of an equation or shudder when someone mentions doing math?

Maybe a teacher wasn't very supportive, or you just find yourself cringing at the thought of solving difficult problems.

Now a new study may help explain why some of us struggle more than others.

Researchers at Ohio State University found math anxiety isn't caused solely by environment and negative experiences. Apparently, it's also in your genes!

They say certain genetic markers lead to general anxiety and math skills.

The study compared fraternal and identical twins with different levels of fear over math.

They found genetic factors explained about 40% of the differences in anxiety over math.

They say the rest was explained by environment such as the type of support received at school.

If they can figure out what causes people to be anxious about math, they say they may be able to develop ways to help them.