Why Are Home Literacy Environment and Children's Reading Skills Associated? What Parental Skills Reveal

Elsje van Bergen, Titia L. Van Zuijen, Dorothy Bishop, Peter F. de Jong

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Associations between home literacy environment and children's reading ability are often assumed to reflect a direct influence. However, heritability could account for the association between parent and child literacy-related measures. We used data from 101 mother/father/child triads to consider the extent to which associations between home literacy and children's reading fluency could be accounted for by parental reading fluency. Although home literacy correlated significantly with children's reading, no variable predicted significant variance after allowing for parental reading, except the number of books in the home. By incorporating measures of heritable parental traits into studies investigating home environment effects, we can start to identify which variables are correlates of parental traits and which might play a causal role in fostering children's development.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)147-160
Number of pages14
JournalReading Research Quarterly
Volume52
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2017

Keywords

  • Accuracy
  • Adult
  • Behavioral
  • Childhood
  • Cognitive
  • Developmental
  • Early adolescence
  • Family literacy
  • Fluency
  • Intergenerational literacy
  • Neuropsychological
  • Parental involvement
  • Research methodology
  • Scientific
  • Socioeconomic
  • Socioeconomic factors
  • Speed, rate
  • Theoretical perspectives
  • Transactional

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