Investigating morphological awareness and the processing of transparent and opaque words in adults with low literacy skills and in skilled readers

For adults with low literacy skills, the role of phonology in reading has been fairly well researched, but less is known about the role of morphology in reading. We investigated the contribution of morphological awareness to word reading and reading comprehension and found that for adults with low literacy skills and skilled readers, morphological awareness explained unique variance in word reading and reading comprehension. In addition, we investigated the effects of orthographic and phonological opacity in morphological processing. Results indicated that adults with low literacy skills were more impaired than skilled readers on items containing phonological changes but were spared on items involving orthographic changes. These results are consistent with previous findings of adults with low literacy skills reliance on orthographic codes. Educational implications are discussed.     

Parental assessment of peer play: Development and validation of the parent version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the construct validity of the parent version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS) and to compare it with the teacher version. PIPPS were collected on 297 urban Head Start children. The Parent PIPPS replicated the three-factor solution found with the teacher version, supporting the following constructs of peer play: Play Interaction, Play Disruption, and Play Disconnection. Factor matching and canonical correlational analyses examining the relationship between the parent and teacher versions of the PIPPS revealed significant one-to-one matches between hypothesized like factors. Additionally, analyses of overlapping variance between versions indicated a significant degree of overlap. Implications of the findings for involvement of parents in the assessment process and research on the continuity and discontinuity between home and school environments for low-income, urban children were discussed.     

Reading expressively and understanding thoroughly: An examination of prosody in adults with low literacy skills

The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship between prosody, which is the expressive quality of reading out loud, and reading comprehension in adults with low literacy skills compared to skilled readers. All participants read a passage orally, and we extracted prosodic measures from the recordings. We examined pitch changes and how long readers paused at various points while reading. Finally, for the adults with low literacy skills, we collected information on decoding, word recognition, and reading comprehension. We found several interesting results. First, adults with low literacy skills paused longer than skilled readers and paused at a substantially greater number of punctuation marks. Second, while adults with low literacy skills do mark the end of declarative sentences with a pitch declination similar to skilled readers, their readings of questions lack a change in pitch. Third, decoding and word recognition skills were related to pauses while reading; readers with lower skills made longer and more frequent and inappropriate pauses. Finally, pausing measures explained a significant amount of variance in reading comprehension among the adults with low literacy skills.     

EXAMINING POTENTIAL BIAS IN SCREENING MEASURES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS BY SPECIAL EDUCATION AND LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS SUBGROUPS

To provide timely and effective supports for students reading below grade level, schools require methods for quickly and accurately identifying those students in need. One method for identifying those students is through universal screening. Assessments such as oral reading fluency (ORF) and Maze reading comprehension are commonly used as screening assessments in middle grades. The current study examined ORF and Maze for evidence of bias across two subgroups known to be at increased risk for failure in reading: (a) students with learning disabilities and (b) students from low‐income households. Data from 4,215 students in the sixth (n = 1,126), seventh (n = 1,361), and eighth grades (n = 1,728) were analyzed. Results indicate no significant differences in predictive validity for students from low‐income households compared to students from middle and upper income households. For students with learning disabilities only 8th grade scores showed any evidence of bias compared to students without diagnosed disabilities. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

A Little Comfort for the Theoretically Distressed: A Follow-Up to Burleson et al.'s Response

This research note describes four student myths about the importance of taking a marital and family communication course. Second, the assessment of student beliefs about marriage were examined using Larson's (1988) Marriage Quiz. Results revealed individual differences in endorsing myths as a function of gender, age, religious denomination, and previous exposure to courses in interpersonal communication. The findings indicate that courses in marital communication can debunk selected stereotypes about marriage.     

A dominance analysis approach to determining predictor importance in third, seventh, and tenth grade reading comprehension skills

The purpose of the present study was to investigate and rank order by importance the contributions of various cognitive predictors to reading comprehension in third, seventh, and tenth graders. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that for third grade, the best fit was a four-factor solution including fluency, verbal reasoning, nonverbal reasoning, and working memory factors. For seventh and tenth grade, three-factor solutions with fluency, reasoning, and working memory factors were the best fit. The three and four-factor models were used in separate dominance analyses for each grade to rank order the factors by predictive importance to reading comprehension. Results indicated that fluency and verbal reasoning were the most important predictors of third grade reading comprehension. For seventh grade, fluency and reasoning were the most important predictors. By tenth grade, reasoning was the most important predictor of reading comprehension. Working memory was the least predictive of reading comprehension across all grade levels. These results suggest that inferential reasoning skills become an important contributor to reading comprehension at increasing grade levels.     

The persuasive effect of the AIDS NAMES quilt on behavioral intentions

The present study attempted to test the persuasive impact of the AIDS NAMES Quilt on behavioral intentions. Specifically, the Quilt, and knowing or not knowing a homosexual or Person Living with AIDS (PLWA), was predicted to be influential in determining one's intentions to behave supportively towards PLWA.

Results indicated that far individuals who know a homosexual or PLWA, viewing the quilt had no effect. For individuals who did not know a homosexual or PLWA, the quilt had a significant effect on their behavioral intentions e.g., they were more willing to engage in supportive behaviors. Additionally, females were more willing to engage in supportive behaviors than males. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Attachment styles and the evaluation of comforting responses: A receiver perspective

The current study explored emotional distress and comforting messages from a receiver's perspective. This approach differs from most comforting research, which focuses on the sender's ability to provide comfort. After reading a scenario that depicted a major distressing event or a daily distressing event, subjects selected the Burleson and Samter (1985) comforting strategy that would most alleviate their emotional distress. In an attempt to explain a subject's perceptions of comforting, attachment styles, likelihood of seeking support, and level of emotional discomfort were also assessed. Results indicated that subjects desired a mid‐level comforting response regardless of whether they were distressed over a daily event or major event. This result is counter to the sender oriented comforting research, which suggests that providing higher‐level comforting responses is optimal. Subjects in the death scenario were more upset by the event and more likely to seek social support. Secure attachment subjects desired a significantly higher‐level comforting message than anxious/ambivalent and avoidant individuals. Additionally, females desired a higher level comforting response, were more likely to be upset by the distress, and were more likely to seek support than males.     

Augmenting the Simple View of Reading for Struggling Adult Readers: A Unique Role for Background Knowledge

This study explored the background knowledge (BK) and reading comprehension (RC) relationship for struggling adult readers. Using confirmatory factor analyses, a single-factor BK model exhibited better fit than a two-factor model separating academic knowledge and general information, which indicates that BK represents a unidimensional construct for this population. In addition, one measure of oral vocabulary loaded with a latent factor of BK, which was separable from a latent factor of two additional oral vocabulary subtests. Using structural equation modeling, we found that BK exhibited a direct effect on RC after controlling for participants’ grade level, decoding, listening comprehension, and oral vocabulary.