Are General Anxiety, Reading Anxiety, and Reading Self-Concept Linked to Reading Skills Among Chinese Adolescents With and Without Dyslexia?

This study investigated the cross-sectional relationships between reading-related affective and cognitive factors and reading skills among adolescents with and without dyslexia. Participants were 120 Chinese-speaking eighth graders, including 60 adolescents with dyslexia and 60 typically developing adolescents from Hong Kong, China. Adolescents completed questionnaires on general anxiety, reading anxiety, and reading self-concept. They were also assessed on measures of rapid digit naming, verbal working memory, word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. The results showed that readers with dyslexia reported higher levels of general anxiety and reading anxiety and lower levels of reading self-concept than typical readers. They also showed difficulties in rapid digit naming and verbal working memory. Importantly, controlling for rapid digit naming and verbal working memory, reading self-concept was uniquely associated with word reading and reading fluency for readers with and without dyslexia. Furthermore, reading anxiety and reading self-concept were uniquely associated with reading comprehension for the two groups of readers. The findings point to the importance of considering affective factors when examining the reading skills of Chinese readers and the utility of targeting these factors when supporting the learning of adolescents with and without dyslexia.

Prediction of Chinese Reading Fluency by Verbal and Non-verbal Visual Attention Span Measures.

This study explored (1) the relationship between verbal and non-verbal visual attention span measures and (2) the relationship between visual attention span and reading fluency in traditional Chinese, among 101 university students in Hong Kong. The participants' visual attention span was assessed using verbal measures (i.e., a global report task and a partial report task) and non-verbal measures (i.e., visual 1-back task with Chinese characters and visual 1-back task with symbols). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the single latent factor model, composed of the global report task, the partial report task, the visual 1-back task with Chinese characters, and the visual 1-back task with symbols, was a good fit for the data. The results of the regression analysis showed that the global report task significantly predicted traditional Chinese reading fluency. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant predictive relationship between the single latent factor composed of verbal and non-verbal visual attention span measures and traditional Chinese reading fluency. Overall, the results indicate that visual attention span contributes to reading fluency in traditional Chinese.