Abstract

SEABRA, Alessandra G.  and  DIAS, Natália M.. Word identification and reading comprehension: dissociation and linguistic and mnemonic predictive abilities. Neuropsicologia Latinoamericana [online]. 2012, vol.4, n.spe, pp. 43-56. ISSN 2075-9479.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5579/rnl.2012.0101.

Although strongly correlated, word recognition and reading comprehension are relatively independent. Thus, some skills can participate in both processes; however, other abilities can provide unique contributions to each of them. The objective of this study was to identify what skills, between oral language and working memory, can predict word recognition and reading comprehension, controlling the effect of age and of non-verbal intelligence. The sample was composed by 284 Brazilian students, from 1st to 4th grade of elementary school, aged between 6 and 10 years, assessed by means of measures of phonological awareness, syntactic awareness, vocabulary, phonological discrimination, naming, letter knowledge, auditory and visual working memory, single word recognition, listening and reading comprehension, besides nonverbal reasoning. The results showed a high correlation between word recognition and reading comprehension, as expected. Regression analysis showed that measures of listening comprehension, letter knowledge and auditory working memory provide contribution to both criterion measures, i.e., word recognition and reading comprehension, while there was a unique contribution of phonological awareness for word recognition, and of vocabulary for reading comprehension. The results contributed to the identification of the common and unique demands of each reading ability and are quite consistent with international studies conducted in other languages and orthographies.

Keywords : Component skills; Reading; Language; Working memory; Regression analysis.

        · abstract in Portuguese | Spanish | French     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )