Reading and Cognitive Correlates Underlying Inferencing Among Adolescent Readers

Little is known about how components of working memory (i.e., passive resonance of information in working memory, limited capacity working memory, and suppression of irrelevant information from working memory) impact near and far inferencing among adolescent readers. Using path analyses, the current study evaluated the relations of near and far inferencing, vocabulary, general knowledge, strategy use, and word reading efficiency as well as components of working memory among 1,085 students in Grades 7-12. Results indicated that near inferencing has the largest direct effect on far inferencing. Further, in a model that also included direct and indirect effects of cognitive processes on far inferences, results suggested that working memory (β = .08, p = .02), suppression (β = .07, p =.03), near inferencing (β = .25, p < .001) and vocabulary (β = .18, p < .001) had significant direct effects on far inferencing; whereas suppression (β = .13, p < .001), passive resonance in memory (β = .12, p <.001), background knowledge (β = .12, p = .005), and vocabulary β = .27, p < .001) had significant direct effects on near inferencing. In sum, results suggest that cognitive processes impact inferencing among adolescents.