title: Executive Functions Contribute Uniquely to Reading Competence in Minority Youth.
abstract: Competent reading requires various skills beyond those for basic word reading (i.e., core language skills, rapid naming, phonological processing). Contributing "higher-level" or domain-general processes include information processing speed and executive functions (working memory, strategic problem solving, attentional switching). Research in this area has relied on largely Caucasian samples, with limited representation of children from racial or ethnic minority groups. This study examined contributions of executive skills to reading competence in 761 children of minority backgrounds. Hierarchical linear regressions examined unique contributions of executive functions (EF) to word reading, fluency, and comprehension. EF contributed uniquely to reading performance, over and above reading-related language skills; working memory contributed uniquely to all components of reading; while attentional switching, but not problem solving, contributed to isolated and contextual word reading and reading fluency. Problem solving uniquely predicted comprehension, suggesting that this skill may be especially important for reading comprehension in minority youth. Attentional switching may play a unique role in development of reading fluency in minority youth, perhaps as a result of the increased demand for switching between spoken versus written dialects. Findings have implications for educational and clinical practice with regard to reading instruction, remedial reading intervention, and assessment of individuals with reading difficulty.
authors.affiliation: 1 Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.|2 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.|3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: 1 Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.|3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Taylor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koriakin
authors.affiliation: 1 Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.|2 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.|3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lipkin
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boada
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Jan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Frijters
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Maureen W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lovett
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Willcutt
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gottwald
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Maryanne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bosson-Heenan
authors.affiliation: 3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.|4 Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gruen
authors.affiliation: 1 Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.|2 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.|3 Genes, Reading and Dyslexia Study, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: E Mark
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Mahone
mesh_terms: D000073978:Academic Performance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology; D011932:Reading
keywords: attention; comprehension; dyslexia; fluency; processing speed; working memory