It Depends: Conditional Correlation Between Frequency of Storybook Reading and Emergent Literacy Skills in Children With Language Impairments

• Published in: Journal of learning disabilities 2014-11, Vol.47 (6), p.491-502
• Main Authors: Petrill, Stephen A., Logan, Jessica A. R., Sawyer, Brook E., Justice, Laura M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alphabets; Associations; At risk; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child clinical studies; Child, Preschool; Childrens Literature; Competence; Correlation; Developmental disorders; Disorders of higher nervous function. Focal brain diseases. Central vestibular syndrome and deafness. Brain stem syndromes; Early literacy; Emergent Literacy; Expressive Language; Factor Analysis; Family; Family Environment; Female; Graphemes; Home environment; Humans; Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test; Kindergarten; Kindergarten students; Language disordered children; Language disorders; Language Disorders - physiopathology; Language Impairments; Learning disabilities; Learning disorders; Literacy; Literacy skills; Male; Medical sciences; Naming; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Phonological Awareness; Print awareness; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Questionnaires; Reading; Reading Habits; Reading Skills; Regression (Statistics); Risk assessment; Special Education; Story Reading; Storytelling; Time Factors; Vocabulary; Young Children
• ISSN: 0022-2194; 1538-4780
• DOI: 10.1177/0022219412470518

The current study examined the association between frequency of storybook reading and emergent literacy in 212 children at risk for language impairment, assessed during the fall semester of kindergarten. Measures included parent-reported storybook reading, as well as direct assessments of print knowledge, letter awareness, and expressive vocabulary. Results suggested nonsignificant to moderate (r = .11 to .25) correlations between frequency of storybook reading and child emergent literacy across the entire range of environment and ability. Quantile regression results suggested that the association was highest at low frequency of storybook reading, particularly for print knowledge, approaching r = .50. Moreover, the association between frequency of storybook reading and emergent literacy was highest at higher levels of emergent literacy for print knowledge, but particularly for letter naming, approaching r = .80. These results suggest that in children with language difficulties, the relationship between aspects of the home environment and emergent literacy is conditional on the quality of the home environment as well as the child’s proficiency in emergent literacy skills.