Indirect Effects of Preschool Vocabulary, Social Skills, and Inattention on First and Second Grade Reading Comprehension in Latinx Dual Language Learners

Background: Early vocabulary skills, social skills, and inattention are linked to children’s later ability to read with comprehension. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which vocabulary, social skills, and inattention contribute to later reading comprehension in Latinx dual language learners (DLLs). Purpose: This study examined (1) the extent to which social skills and inattention in the middle of preschool mediate the relationship between receptive and expressive vocabulary skills at the beginning of preschool and reading comprehension at the beginning of first and second grade and (2) the extent to which receptive and expressive vocabulary skills at the end of preschool mediate the relationship between social skills and inattention in the middle of preschool and reading comprehension at the beginning of first and second grade in Latinx DLLs. Methods: Participants included 223 Latinx DLLs who participated in a larger study investigating the effects of a shared-book reading intervention on vocabulary skills. The study occurred over four years with participants’ vocabulary skills, social skills, and inattention measured in preschool and their reading comprehension assessed in first and second grade. Mediation analyses were conducted using ordinary least squares path analysis with bootstrapping. Results: Students with fewer inattention problems in preschool had significantly higher reading comprehension scores in second grade due to higher receptive vocabulary at the end of preschool. Additionally, students with higher expressive vocabulary at the beginning of preschool had significantly higher reading comprehension abilities in second grade, and students with higher receptive vocabulary at the end of preschool had significantly higher reading comprehension abilities in first and second grade. Conclusion: These findings suggest that targeting receptive and expressive vocabulary and attentive behaviors in preschool may be important for enhancing later reading comprehension abilities in Latinx DLL students.