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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

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Published on: May 15, 2019
A longitudinal investigation of inattention and preliteracy development
Christy M Walcott1, Anastasia Scheemaker, Kerri Bielski
1East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353, USA. walcottc@ecu.edu
Objective:
The link between significant attention problems and reading difficulties among school-age children is clear, but few have examined the impact of early inattention on preliteracy development. This longitudinal study examines this link.
Method:
A total of 47 children had repeated measures of teacher-rated attention problems and three key preliteracy skills (phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and rapid naming) in both preschool and kindergarten.
Results:
Teacher-reported attention problems in preschool significantly and negatively predicted both phonemic awareness and letter naming scores 1 year later, even after controlling for initial language ability and preschool performance on these tasks. Levels of preschool inattention did not significantly predict rapid automatic naming 1 year later. Likewise, preschool preliteracy scores did not predict attention problems in kindergarten.
Conclusion:
Early attention problems may interfere with the acquisition of certain preliteracy skills. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are presented.
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