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Relationships Between Anxiety, Attention, and Reading Performance in Children
Emily D Barnes1, Amie E Grills2, Sharon R Vaughn3
1Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University, 2 Silber Way, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. emilydb@bu.edu.
Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|April 27, 2024
Summary
Anxiety’s impact on children’s reading skills is complex. While some anxiety facets aid reading, attentional control may explain how anxiety influences reading performance, supporting Attentional Control Theory.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Existing research presents conflicting findings on the relationship between childhood anxiety and reading abilities.
- Attentional Control Theory proposes anxiety can both hinder and improve cognitive processes, including reading.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interplay between anxiety, attentional control, and reading performance in elementary students.
- To examine how different facets of anxiety relate to word reading and passage comprehension.
Main Methods:
- A diverse sample of 251 3rd-grade students was assessed.
- Measures included anxiety scales, attentional control assessments, and reading performance tests (word reading/decoding, passage comprehension).
- Statistical models were used to explore mediation effects.
Main Results:
- Harm avoidance (a facet of anxiety) showed a positive association with reading performance.
- Physical anxiety symptoms were negatively associated with reading performance.
- Attentional control partially mediated these relationships, attenuating the direct links between anxiety and reading.
Conclusions:
- Findings support Attentional Control Theory by demonstrating that attentional control plays a role in how anxiety affects reading.
- Different aspects of anxiety have differential impacts on reading, mediated by attentional processes.
- Further research is warranted to confirm causal mediation pathways.
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