Executive Functions and Morphological Awareness Explain the Shared Variance Between Word Reading and Listening...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Education

Background:

• Word reading and listening comprehension are key predictors of reading comprehension.
• The simple view of reading model highlights their importance.
• Understanding the factors influencing this relationship is crucial for early literacy development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the extent to which domain-general cognitions (executive functions) and emergent literacy skills explain the relationship between word reading and listening comprehension.
• To test the direct and indirect effects model of reading in early readers.

Main Methods:

• Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data from 372 first-grade English-speaking children.
• Key variables included word reading, listening comprehension, executive functions (working memory, attentional control), and emergent literacy skills (morphological awareness, phonological awareness, etc.).

Main Results:

• Word reading and listening comprehension were moderately related (r = .54).
• This relationship weakened when executive functions were included (r = .39).
• The relationship disappeared when morphological awareness was added (r = .05), indicating it largely mediated the connection.

Conclusions:

• Executive functions and morphological awareness substantially explain the shared variance between word reading and listening comprehension in beginning readers.
• Morphological awareness appears to be a critical factor in bridging word reading and listening comprehension.
• These findings have implications for targeted interventions to improve reading comprehension in early elementary students.