Cognitive mechanisms underlying the associations between inattention and reading abilities

ABSTRACT

This study aims to test cognitive skills underlying the association between inattention and reading in early primary school. Teachers rated inattention symptoms when children (N = 523–962) were 6–7 years old. Children were assessed at age 7–8 on phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), rapid auditory and bimodal processing, vocabulary, and reading (decoding and comprehension). Phonological awareness, RAN of numbers, and vocabulary mediated the association between inattention and both decoding and comprehension. Rapid bimodal processing mediated the association between inattention and decoding, while RAN of colors mediated the association between inattention and comprehension. This study highlights mediators underlying inattention-reading associations.

Acknowledgments

Vickie Plourde was supported by a CIHR Doctoral Fellowship, and Michel Boivin, by the Canada Research Chair program. The study received ethical approval from Laval University and Ste-Justine Hospital. Special thanks to Bei Feng and Hélène Paradis for their assistance in data management; to Jocelyn Malo, Marie-Élyse Bertrand, and the Quebec Statistics Institute for coordinating data collection; and to the children, parents, and teachers who participated in the studies.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by various grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network (CLLRNET), National Health Research and Development Program (NHRDP), Quebec Research Funds (FCAR, FQRSC, and FRSQ), Quebec Ministries of Health, Social Services and Families, and the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation.