Are children with early literacy difficulties at risk for anxiety disorders in late childhood?

The present study examined whether literacy difficulties in both grades 2 and 3 are associated with social and generalized anxiety within the school environment in grade 5 and if children with different literacy difficulties differ in anxiety levels compared to typically developing children in grade...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of dyslexia 2024-04, Vol.74 (1), p.82-96
Main Authors: Kargiotidis, Apostolos, Manolitsis, George
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Anxiety Disorders
At risk populations
Child
Childhood
Dyslexia - psychology
Early literacy
Education
Educational Environment
Elementary school students
Emergent Literacy
Fluency
Grade 2
Grade 5
Greek language
Humans
Language
Language and Literature
Learning environment
Linguistics
Literacy
Neurology
Psycholinguistics
Reading
Reading accuracy
Reading comprehension
Reading Fluency
Social anxiety
Social Sciences
Spelling
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Summary:The present study examined whether literacy difficulties in both grades 2 and 3 are associated with social and generalized anxiety within the school environment in grade 5 and if children with different literacy difficulties differ in anxiety levels compared to typically developing children in grade 5 after controlling for inattention. Sixty-nine Greek children with literacy difficulties and fifty-two children with typical literacy development were assessed at the beginning of grade 2 and at the end of grade 3 on standardized literacy measures (reading accuracy, text-reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling). In grade 5, teachers were asked to rate their children’s social and generalized anxiety levels and inattentive behavior in the school context. Results of one-way ANCOVAs showed that children with literacy difficulties were experiencing more social anxiety than typically developing children. Furthermore, children with both reading and spelling difficulties, but not those with single reading or spelling difficulties, had more social anxiety. These findings suggest that there is a close connection between early literacy difficulties and social anxiety in upper elementary grades and particularly among children with both reading and spelling difficulties. Implications for both teachers and other professionals who support children’s socioemotional development will be discussed.
ISSN:0736-9387
1934-7243
DOI:10.1007/s11881-023-00291-7