Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 15, 2025
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Decomposing the Variance in Reading Comprehension to Reveal the Unique and Common Effects of Language and Decoding
Published on: October 11, 2018
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Language and Beyond: A Registered Report Examining Single and Multiple Risk Models of Later Reading Comprehension
Emma James1,2, Paul A Thompson3, Lucy Bowes1
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Developmental Science
|July 15, 2025
Summary
Children with comprehension weaknesses (CW) showed early language difficulties, but predicting individual outcomes remained challenging. Multiple risk factors increased CW risk, yet failed to accurately predict individual children
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Poor reading comprehension in children is often linked to early oral language weaknesses.
- Longitudinal studies have struggled to reliably predict which children develop comprehension weaknesses (CW).
- Existing evidence often uses small samples and focuses narrowly on language in isolation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine early predictors of later reading comprehension weaknesses (CW) in a large cohort.
- To investigate whether the breadth or depth of risk factors predicts reading outcomes.
- To understand the challenges in early identification of children at risk for CW.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 879 children with CW identified at age 9 from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).
- Study 1 assessed language at 15, 24, and 38 months in relation to later CW (n=4516).
- Study 2 used a multiple risk approach in a subsample (n=125 CW children, n=561 controls) examining breadth and depth of risk factors.
Main Results:
- Children with CW had poorer language at 24 and 38 months, but not 15 months, compared to peers.
- Preschool language ability was a poor predictor of individual outcomes, even with environmental factors considered.
- Having three or more risk factors increased the likelihood of later CW.
- Language was a consistent predictor of group membership, but cognitive risks beyond language correlated with CW severity.
- Neither breadth nor depth of risks adequately predicted individual outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Early language weaknesses (at 24 and 38 months) are associated with later comprehension weaknesses (CW), but individual prediction is poor.
- A multiple risk approach indicates that the number and severity of risk factors relate to CW presence and severity.
- Early identification of children at risk for CW remains challenging, necessitating consideration of factors beyond language.
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