Distinguishing Direct and Indirect Effects of Executive Functions on Reading Comprehension in Adolescents

Teresa M. Ober, Patricia J. Brooks, Jan L. Plass, Bruce D. Homer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study investigated direct and indirect effects of executive functions on reading comprehension in adolescents (N = 87, M = 14.0 years, SD = 1.5) by testing for parallel mediation of effects of working memory, task-switching, and inhibitory control via decoding and text recall/inference. Working memory showed direct and indirect effects on passage comprehension, the latter mediated by text recall/inference. Task-switching was associated with decoding but its relation to passage comprehension was not significant. Inhibitory control showed indirect effects on passage comprehension via decoding and text recall/inference. Results indicate overlapping but distinct contributions of executive functions to reading skills.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)551-581
Number of pages31
JournalReading Psychology
Volume40
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 18 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Linguistics and Language

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Distinguishing Direct and Indirect Effects of Executive Functions on Reading Comprehension in Adolescents'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this